Morning briefing Tuesday 15th September

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 Tuesday the 15th of September. I'm Daryl Jackson. Reform UK's billionaire cryptocurrency donors could be subject to enhanced checks to establish if they're resident in the UK as Labour attempts to block their£72 million donations.

0:53The donations are the biggest on record by a significant margin. Ministers are now preparing to toughen the law around overseas donations in an attempt to force reform to hand back the money. Mike Clancy, General Secretary of the Prospect Trade Union, told Times Radio there is a genuine need to look at how we fund our political parties. People have become disenchanted with the political process. Part of that disenchantment has arisen from seeing all parties at different times fall below the standards that they profess. And it's important that every participant in the democratic processes in our country, whether it be trade unions, political parties or others, are held to the highest standards of transparency in terms of the motivations and the expectations behind donations.

1:36The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have moved their children to a new school just days after the start of the new term. Prince Archie, who's seven and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, moved back to the UK with their parents last month. The decision comes after reports that both Harry and Meghan will receive an updated security risk assessment. Nottingham will become one of the first cities to introduce a balaclava ban from today as new powers aimed at tackling intimidation in the city come into force. The restrictions mean police and council officers can require people to remove a face covering where their identity is being concealed to commit a crime or behave antisocially.

2:14The powers will include£70 on-the-spot fines, confiscation of face coverings and referral to an immediate justice programme requiring community work. Former Prime Minister Lord Cameron's urged rural communities to fight together as part of a new campaign calling on the government to reset relations with the countryside. The former PM said they should harness their anger in a collective effort to push back against a recent spate of measures. He's been speaking at an event led by the Countryside Alliance. The organisation says 27 policies brought in or proposed by Labour have been damaging to rural communities.

2:53That includes inheritance tax on farms, as well as the rise in national insurance hitting businesses such as pubs. I don't care if you don't go hunting. The ban on trail hunting is your fight. You don't have to be a farmer to care about the farm tax. Fighting against that is your fight. I don't care if you're not a publican or you never step inside a pub. Saving rural pubs is your fight. All of these things require us to stand together and to fight together. Pubs and retailers will be able to accept digital ID as proof of age to buy alcohol under new rules. The move aims to provide an alternative to carrying a physical ID, so punters can use their phones to prove their age at the pub, festivals and concerts.

3:39The changes to the Lightencing Act come into force today, apply to businesses in England and Wales, but the government expects it to take some time for the technology to be widely adopted. And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day on Times Radio. This 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.

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