Morning briefing Thursday 3rd July

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by IG. If you're serious about building your wealth, you already know the markets don't wait around. Whether you're a hands-on trader wanting full control over every single move, or you're actively scaling up your portfolio and looking for a platform you can trust, you need a partner that backs you. You need IG. We're talking zero commission on all stocks, shares and ETFs and absolutely no annual fees. IG was just voted Best Low-Cost ISA at the 2026 Boring Money Awards, Plus, they've been trusted by British investors for over 50 years.

0:38Search IG.com to find out more. IG. Trade. Invest. Progress. Your capital is at risk. Other fees may apply. This is The Times' morning briefing on Thursday 3rd July. Rachel Reeves is battling questions about her future after her tears in the Commons yesterday prompted the biggest jump in Britain's borrowing costs since Liz Truss's premiership. Downing Street denied claims that Reeves and Starmer had argued before Prime Minister's questions over the government's climb down on welfare reforms. Tom Peck is the Times' sketch writer and was in the press gallery at the time and was struck by the reaction of other MPs.

1:17There have been many times over the last 10 years in the House of Commons where people have been profoundly upset, sometimes for horrible reasons. You know, MPs have been murdered. But what characterises those occasions is that there's so much sympathy, there's so much solidarity, there are arms around shoulders and there's squeezes of the hand. And what was so unsettling to be there in person was that no one was really providing her any support or any comfort. Meanwhile, UK government borrowing costs jumped sharply and the pound declined against major currencies, as markets speculated on the future of the Chancellor.

1:50Investors also dumped the pound, forcing sterling 1 % lower against the dollar to$1.36 and 0.7 % weaker against the euro at 1.15 euro. Robert Miller is from the Times' business desk and told us that he thinks that the effect on the markets is temporary. I do at the moment, and I think since then the Prime Minister has quite clearly seen that you've got to stand four square behind your Chancellor because a lot else would unravel if there was any danger, I think, at the moment of her standing down. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Downing Street yesterday to oppose a proposed ban on Palestine action.

2:28MPs voted to designate the group as a terrorist organisation, much like Al-Qaeda, after activists reportedly broke into a military base and damaged planes, protesting perceived UK support for Israel. The four people charged with damaging the aircraft at RAF Bryce Norton in Oxfordshire will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court later today. If approved by the House of Lords, the prescription would make it a crime to support or belong to Palestine action under British law, effective in the following days. Retired academic Phil Vassily was at the protest and said that the protests will not disappear.

3:03The government are being politically really stupid because the kickback will just be stronger. Protests will not disappear because they ban prescribed Palestine action. It will just make people stronger, more determined, angrier and they're writing their own suicide note. Thousands more GPs and fewer hospital consultants will be trained in an effort to shift healthcare closer to home. The government is set to announce today. 200 new neighbourhood health centres will offer scans, outpatient appointments, mental health therapy and a host of services without the need to go to hospital. That's under proposals to be outlined in the government's 10-year plan for the NHS.

3:44And there's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:51This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by IG. If you're serious about building your wealth, you already know the markets don't wait around. Whether you're a hands-on trader wanting full control over every single move, or you're actively scaling up your portfolio and looking for a platform you can trust, you need a partner that backs you. You need IG. We're talking zero commission on all stocks, shares and ETFs and absolutely no annual fees. IG was just voted best low-cost ISA at the 2026 Boring Money Awards, plus they've been trusted by British investors for over 50 years. Search IG.com to find out more.

4:33IG. Trade. Invest. Progress. Your capital is at risk. Other fees may apply. Hi, I'm Katie Prescott from the Times Tech Podcast. AI is already changing business and medicine, but could it also change the way we look after our own health? In a special episode in Paid Partnership with Vitality, we look at how AI, wearables and everyday health data could help shift healthcare from treating illness to preventing it. Listen to the Times Tech Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.