Morning Briefing Thursday 1st January

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 the 1st of January, 2026. Good morning, I'm Will Hobbs. Sikir Starmer has said he is frustrated by the slow pace of change, but insisted that people would begin to feel a sense of hope this year as the economy turns around.

0:50The Prime Minister acknowledged in his New Year message that life is still harder than it should be for many Britons who long for a bit more money in their pockets. I hope the festive period has brought good moments, precious time with your family, a chance to celebrate what's most important to you. I wish you more of those moments next year, when things start to feel easier, when politics shows it can help again, when Britain turns the corner. With our future now in our control, the real Britain will shine through more strongly. Happy New Year. The Times reports Starmer is facing a fight for his political future when Parliament returns.

1:34Cabinet ministers are saying his premiership is unsustainable after a collapse in the polls and Labour is facing a damaging set of local elections as well as votes in Wales and Scotland in May. Vladimir Putin has used his New Year's address to tell Russians he's confident of victory in the war with Ukraine. Despite progress in peace negotiations, the president reaffirmed his belief in his country's eventual success. Ukraine's president has used his New Year's address to the nation to say though he wants the war with Russia to end, it will not be at any cost. Vladimir Zelensky promised his people he would not sign a weak deal.

2:09Ukraine does not need a Ming-style meticulously drafted trap. Signatures under weak agreements only fuel war. My signature will be under a strong agreement. And that is exactly what every meeting, every call, every decision is about right now.

2:28To secure a strong peace for everyone. Not for a day, not for a week. not for two months, peace for years. Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, has said that Shamima Begin poses a national security threat after her attempt to return to Britain was given fresh momentum by the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg Court has asked the UK government to explain whether it acted unlawfully in stripping Begin of her citizenship in 2019, four years after she travelled to Syria aged 15 to join Islamic State. The driver in the car crash that killed Anthony Joshua's coach and personal trainer, but in which the boxer narrowly escaped death, could face prosecution, according to reports in Nigeria.

3:11An investigation by the country's Federal Road Safety Corps has suggested that the vehicle was being driven at an excessive speed when its tyre burst and that it had been involved in dangerous overtaking. Sina Gami, Joshua's strength and conditioning coach, and Latif Ayadele, his personal trainer known as LATS, were killed instantly when their Lexus SUV crashed into a stationary lorry on Monday in Ogun State. Joshua himself has now been discharged from hospital. An intruder broke into Kensington Palace twice in the days before Christmas. A person was allegedly seen climbing over a fence with a heavy rucksack and was detained by Met Police officers in the Palace Gardens on December 21st and 23rd.

3:52Derek Egan, 39, has been charged with two offences of trespassing and is being held in custody. The Prince and Princes of Wales use a wing of the palace as their London residents, but are not thought to have been there at the time of the alleged break-ins. There'll be more of these stories, of course, throughout the day, on Times Radio.

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4:57The 2026 FIFA World Cup meal at McDonald's is underway with one of nine legendary cups in the lineup. Christian Pulisic, David Beckham, Laminio Mal, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Son Hyung-min, Alphonso Davies, Santi Jimenez. And between the posts, it's grimace. Get one of nine collectible cups with a FIFA World Cup meal. At participating McDonald's for a limited time. While supplies last, all rights reserved. of 2026 McDonald's at FIFA World Cup 2026.