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Times Radio News Briefing

11 Dec 2025 · 3m · 3 chapters

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Morning Briefing Thursday 11th December

In short

This Times Radio News Briefing (Thu 11 Dec) covers: (1) England doctors’ strike vote: resident doctors may vote on cancelling next week’s strike after a new government jobs offer. Government proposes advanced training jobs and prioritising UK-trained doctors; Health Secretary Wes Streeting calls it a good deal. BMA says government could go further on pay but won’t tell members how to vote; BMA hard wing urges rejecting because pay concerns remain. Former health minister Lord Bethel says pay may still be a factor. (2) Energy policy: Britain’s national energy system operator warns Ed Miliband’s 2015 net zero plan could cost £350bn more than slower decarbonisation. Former Energy UK CEO and Conservative MP Angela Knight opposes binding deadlines, citing engineering complexity and grid/nuclear requirements. (3) Migration law: half of Europe’s justice ministers, including David Lammy, call to restrict ECHR Articles 3 and 8 to reduce deportation blocks and allow third-country deals like Rwanda; immigration lawyer Hajib Singh says the treaty needn’t be scrapped, only amended. Lammy also considers wiping childhood criminal records.

Guests

Lord Bethel; Angela Knight; Hajib Singh.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

0:38

Healthcare and Strikes in England

Discussion about the potential strike by resident doctors in England and government proposals.

“Resident doctors will get a vote on whether to cancel next week's strike in England after a new government jobs offer.”
3:23

Energy Costs and UK Decarbonization

Former officials discuss the costs associated with the UK's net-zero plan and energy systems.

“So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business?”
3:58

Human Rights and Immigration Laws

Debate on potential amendments to the European Convention on Human Rights related to migration.

“PwC turns innovation into implementation, so you can accelerate from experiment to scale.”
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Transcript

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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 the Times Morning Briefing on Thursday, the 11th of December. I'm Chris Stabbs. Resident doctors will get a vote on whether to cancel next week's strike in England after a new government jobs offer.

0:45The government is proposing creating new advanced training jobs and giving UK-trained doctors priority for them. The Health Secretary Wes Streeting says it is a good deal to address what he calls legitimate concerns. The BMA say the government can go further on pay but won't recommend to its members how they should vote. former health minister and member of the house of lords lord bethel told us that pay may still feature in next week's strike i do note from the communications by the hard wing of the bma that they are recommending to reject it because it doesn't address pay britain's national energy system operator warns that ed milliband's 2015 net zero plan could cost 350 billion pounds more than a slower decarbonisation path.

1:31Former chief executive of Energy UK and former Conservative MP Angela Knight told us that she did not support having a binding plan or deadline in place when the plan was supported by the Conservatives. The reason is because this is a major programme. It's engineering, it's got cost associated with it, you require moving the grid, you require nuclear power is back up. All sorts of intricacies go into a programme such as this. And therefore, to put a timetable and to put in legislation a date from what, frankly, was an emotional perspective, was, I think, quite a foolish thing to do. Half of Europe's justice ministers, including David Lammy, are calling for articles in the European Convention on Human Rights to be restricted, to reduce instances in which it blocks deportations.

2:24They want changes to Article 3, which is about torture, and Article 8, the right to a family life. They've also called for countries not to be prevented signing third country migrant deals like the Rwanda scheme. Hajib Singh is an immigration lawyer and told us that the treaty doesn't need to be scrapped and the Home Secretary may feel that it can be amended. What David Lammy is perhaps saying or the law signed at the time was suitable for the 50s and the 60s and the 70s, but perhaps not now in today's day and age. But what he's also alluding to is that there currently is a problem and that he feels that the laws of that time that were made are not helping him solve the problem now.

3:04And David Lammy is also considering wiping childhood criminal records to prevent future job prospects from being scuppered. the Justice Secretary is considering simplifying the criminal records check system after people in middle age found minor offences they had committed as teenagers were still being disclosed to potential employers. And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day over on Times Radio.

3:41an 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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4:50All rights reserved. Copyright 2026. McDonald's at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

From the publisher

The Times briefing for the morning of Thursday 11th December. 

For more on these stories throughout the day tune into Times Radio - on DAB, online, through your smart speaker or on the Times Radio app.


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