Morning briefing Thursday 13th November

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 for Thursday the 13th of November. Sakiya Starmer is facing calls from some cabinet ministers to sack his most senior aide, Morgan McSweeney.

0:44It follows briefings from within No. 10 that accuse the Health Secretary West Streeting of plotting to remove the Prime Minister from office. Starmer has ordered an inquiry into the source of the accusations against Streeting, and Downing Street insists the Prime Minister had full confidence in his chief of staff. The Times' chief political commentator is Patrick Maguire. To hear ministers say things like there's no obvious solution that doesn't involve getting rid of McSweeney, it's really striking and it is a window into the deep, deep frustration and bewilderment of senior people at the very top of government over what's unfolded over the past 24 hours or so.

1:23Speaking in Manchester yesterday, Streezing said that without McSweeney there wouldn't be a Labour government. The White House has accused Democrats of creating a fake narrative to smear President Trump after the release of more than 20 ,000 documents. According to an email written by the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Trump spent hours with Virginia Giuffre. Trump has always strenuously denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking ring and abuse of underage girls. Trump's name surfaced repeatedly in the cache of documents from Epstein's estate made public by Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee.

2:02Bob McEwen is a former Republican congressman for the state of Ohio. I think it's a lot of sound and fury. They pestered Epstein's attorney. He really drove down on Epstein. He said this is before his death in incarceration. He said, do you have anything on Trump? He said three times he went back to him. Is there anything at all that we can use against Trump? And Epstein said, there's nothing, there's nothing, there's nothing. The House of Representatives has passed a bill that will end the longest government shutdown in American history. The 43-day funding lapse has seen federal workers go without pay, travellers stranded at airports and people queuing at food banks.

2:43Police investigating the death of a British woman in France are reported to have made background checks on builders who had renovated her house. The Czechs were part of what remains a wide-ranging investigation into the killing of Karen Carter in a village in the Dordogne in April. Carter, who was 65 and also had South African citizenship, was stabbed eight times outside her home. Cardiff's Principality Stadium will host the opening match of football's European Championship in 2028, with the final and both semifinals to be held at Wembley. A ceremony in London last night marks the official launch of the tournament, which will be co-hosted by England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

3:24Northern Ireland was removed as an option because of a lack of funding. But the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, says Northern Ireland will have a role to play. We're working very closely with Northern Ireland to make sure that we're investing for a legacy for young people there. That's where we'll hold the draw. And in every other part, there'll be football matches that communities will be able to go to that will get them up close and personal to some of the greatest footballers in the world. You can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC.

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