Morning briefing Thursday 30th April

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 Times Radio's morning briefing on Thursday 30th April. Counter-terrorism police investigating the stabbings of two Jewish men in Golders Green say they are searching an address in south-east London after it was reported the suspect had been involved in a prior altercation.

0:52The Metropolitan Police have also confirmed the 45-year-old suspect is a British national who was born in Somalia. Zakir Starmer says he will visit the scene of the attacks amid anger from Jewish people over his response to acts of anti-Semitism in the UK. Alex Hearn is the co-director for Labour Against Anti-Semitism. Speaking to Times Radio, he said society is becoming desensitised to attacks on Jewish people. We've had enough of the platitudes and hand-wringing from politicians because there just doesn't seem to be the political will to act. Britain needs to be put into special measures and the chief rabbi said it himself.

1:31He said words of condemnation are no longer sufficient and he called for meaningful action. Angela Rayner is reportedly weighing up, mounting a direct challenge to Sakhir Starmer's leadership after next week's local elections. The Times has learned that supporters of the former Deputy Prime Minister are urging her to call openly for the Prime Minister to resign. Allies, however, believe Rayner needs to move quickly to head off a challenge by the Health Secretary West Streeting. Speaking to Times Radio, the former Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, said Rayner does not have the credentials to mount such a challenge.

2:07I don't think Angie Rayner is in a position to do so and I don't think she's got the scale of support that she thinks. I do think though, and I've said it publicly, if Andy Burnham was in the Commons at the moment, I think he would have gone already. I think there was a viable alternative then. Andy's not here, he may come back in six months or something like that, we'll see. So therefore I think Kia will stumble on. The captain of an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf has described to Times Radio the dangers faced by shipping crews that have been left stranded by the war against Iran. Raman Kapoor said he and the crew members on board their Indian vessel have become collateral victims.

2:43He also highlighted how an attack on another nearby vessel seven weeks ago had left his crew devastated and scared. A lot of stress, but I have to keep my crew's morale high. It is my job to do that. I try to help them in the best possible way. But as a seafarer, we have to work as well and we have to hold up ourselves and stay strong and focused. And a recent poll of trading standards officers has found that up to 50 % of convenience stores and 25 % of fast food takeaways are linked to organised crime in some areas. Research has identified two particular hotspots, one in coastal towns across Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex, as well as a second along the M62 corridor from Liverpool to Hull and Grimsby.

3:31The alleged activities include the sale of illegal vapes and tobacco, piracy and money laundering. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:47This 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 Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building.

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