Morning briefing Thursday 12th February

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 Radio morning briefing on Thursday the 12th of February. Political leaders have called on Sir Jim Ratcliffe to apologise for saying the UK has been colonised by immigrants who are costing too much.

0:47In an interview on Sky News, the INEOS founder and Manchester United owner blamed immigration and large numbers of people claiming benefits for the state of the economy. In a post on X, the Prime Minister called the comments offensive, saying Britain was a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has also called for an apology, calling the comments totally wrong. Sir Keir Starmer nominated his former Director of Communications for a peerage, despite being told he provided a paedophile counsellor with support. Matthew Doyle supported Sean Morton even after Morton was charged with possessing indecent images of children.

1:25The Prime Minister says Lord Doyle wasn't clear with him about that and he's now suspended the whip from him. Talking to Times Radio, Politico executive editor Anne McElvoy was asked if Sir Keir Starmer would be able to move past these recent events. One of the things I think Keir Starmer will be trying to say is give me time this year to sort out the country, to show that I can be a good Prime Minister for however long I'm there and then the other stuff is for the future. I think Times has been very good at just digging away at the timeline issue here. Little bits of really bad stuff are going to keep coming out again and again and again.

2:03NATO defence ministers will meet in Brussels later today with the new Ukrainian defence minister, Mikhailo Fedorov. Vladimir Zelensky's chief legal advisor told the Times the president has instructed MPs to find a way to hold elections despite martial law. The Ukrainian constitution currently forbids any vote during a time of martial law. Talking to Times Radio, Svyatoslav Yurash, Ukraine's youngest MP and military sergeant, said they aren't just bowing to external pressure.

2:48be destroyed or killed because of the fact of the Russian attacks being unending is an important problem that we need to address. Thames Valley police say they're making progress as quickly as possible to assess allegations of misconduct in public office against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over emails sent to Jeffrey Epstein while he was a trade envoy. Police confirmed they have held discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service. The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has described closer integration with the European Union as the biggest prize for Britain and a political argument Labour can win. Speaking at the London School of Economics, she said closer alignment with the bloc would boost trade and make things easier for businesses and cheaper for consumers.

3:32There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio. This 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.

4:20Laminya Mal steps into McDonald's, looks left, sees Pulisic, looks right, sees Jimenez. Gives a nod to Ronaldinho in the corner with a FIFA World Cup meal. Ronaldinho sees Son in the booth. Son finds Beckham going for extra Big Mac sauce. He's got Davies at the table just behind him. Davies going for his collectible cup. a steal by Henry who pulls his own collectible cup collect one of nine legendary cups with a FIFA World Cup meal at participating McDonald's for a limited time while supplies last all rights reserved 2026 McDonald's at FIFA World Cup 2026