Morning briefing Thursday 24th July

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.

0:34This is the Times Morning Briefing for Thursday 24th July. More than 300 community leaders are calling on the Prime Minister to address what they are calling a crisis in democracy, which they claim could trigger further social unrest. Times Radio has learned that a letter will be delivered to Downing Street today amid reports that members of one of Britain's biggest fascist groups have been helping to organise anti-migrant protests in Epping and are attempting to spread disorder across the country. One of the signatories of the letter is Sasha Bedding of the Wharton Trust, an organisation that delivers critical services in Hartlepool.

1:12People feel dumped on and that's not what we would be looking for. We'd be looking for how to do this safely, proactively. People aren't stupid. They will work with their local authorities. They will work with their health service. They will work with their education departments. They will work with people. But they need to feel they've got a stake in that. The Prime Minister is also being urged to recognise immediately a Palestinian state amid a claim by more than 100 aid organisations operating in Gaza that mass starvation is spreading throughout the territory. A letter sent by the United Nations Association and signed by former UN and British diplomats aims to intensify the pressure on the government to seize the moment.

1:54One of them is the former Labour Minister, Lord Malik Brown. For all of us signing a letter like this, it's not that we think it's a magic bullet, But we think Britain has to deploy every single diplomatic tool available to it, that people in government and those of us on the outside shouldn't look back on this and say we did nothing. The chief executive of NHS England, Sir Jim Mackey, says doctors must face significant financial consequences for going on strike. Resident doctors, who were previously known as junior doctors, will begin five days of industrial action at 7am on Friday. During a previous round of industrial action, more than 500 ,000 appointments and operations had to be rescheduled, which allowed doctors to recoup lost pay by doing overtime to clear backlogs.

2:44The political commentator Joe Phillips says a new approach is required. It allowed those doctors who'd been on strike to make up pay, taking on overtime shifts to clear those backlogs, which means that the NHS is basically subsidising industrial action. And of course, you've then got these walloping great fees that many doctors' locums can charge for covering for the absent striking doctors. Tariffs on whisky exports to India are expected to be halved under the terms of a wider trade deal with the UK worth£6 billion. The UK government is estimating it will be worth£190 million to Scotland's economy.

3:25And the head coach of England's Lionesses, Serena Wiegmann, is expected to receive an honorary damehood if they win the women's Euros final against Spain on Sunday. Spain set up a repeat of the World Cup final of two years ago by beating Germany 1-0 in the second semi-final in Zurich. You can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:51This 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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