Morning briefing Monday 8th December

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands, so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk This is a Times Morning Briefing on Monday 8th December. I'm Daryl Jackson. Russia has signaled that radical changes are needed to the US peace plan to end the war in Ukraine before it's acceptable to Moscow That comes after US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg suggested that a deal was really close Keir Giles, Senior Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House told Times Radio that Ukraine may be forced to buy America to give up the Donbass region There's a reason why it's so vital to Ukraine to keep this not only its territorial integrity, not only protecting its borders, but because that is the heavily fortified region that has resisted Russian attacks since 2014.

1:15Giving it up erodes Ukraine's defences, makes it far harder for them to resist future Russian attacks. Ukraine's president is heading to Downing Street later for talks on the peace proposals. The Times is reporting that every employer in Britain will be required to hand their staff pro-union messaging written by Whitehall under Labour's proposed overhaul of workers rights which is back before Parliament later. Under the employment rights bill bosses will be legally obliged to tell staff about their right to join a union. The Tories say it forces bosses to promote trade unionism. Gerry Scott, The Times' assistant political editor, says we always knew the bill was going to introduce a statutory duty for employers to inform workers about their rights to join a union.

2:00What we now know is that the government's preferred option is that they write a kind of approved statement from Whitehall which contains information such as, you know, the benefits of joining a union, why they should, what unions are available in people's workplaces. And that will be disseminated to staff, potentially, you know, when they join, but also potentially at regular intervals. The deputy prime minister is set to lay out the government's plans to tackle Britain's£100 billion money laundering problem later. David Lammy will make more than 100 commitments to make the UK a harder target for corrupt practices.

2:36It's expected to include stronger law enforcement to tackle bribery and corruption, as well as tougher sanctions on corrupt lawyers and bankers who enable the flow of dirty money. The influential think tank Labour Together, the one that famously ran Sir Keir Starmer's leadership campaign has been canvassing party members on candidates to replace him. The campaign group sent a survey to local Labour parties, which has been seen by the Times. It's prompting members to name the politicians who stood the best chance of leading Labour to electoral victory at the next general election. And it's reported the Duke of Sussex's security arrangements while he's in the UK are being reviewed.

3:18Prince Harry lost an appeal in May, challenging the High Court dismissal of his claim against the Home Office's decision that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer funded protection. He submitted a formal request for a risk assessment to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures. It's understood the Home Office has now ordered a threat assessment. And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:48This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes and workflows that shape how well AI performs. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk.

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