Morning Briefing Tuesday 22nd 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. This is your Times Morning Briefing for Tuesday 22nd July with me, James Kitchen. The Foreign Secretary says Israel is tarnishing its reputation on the world stage, warning its aid scheme in Gaza has subjected Palestinian civilians to a grotesque spectacle.

0:49Israel claims a letter signed by David Lamey. More than 20 other foreign ministers repeating calls for an immediate ceasefire is disconnected from reality. But the former British ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, told Times Radio the statement will have an effect on the Israeli population. I think public opinion is beginning to harden against these atrocities in their neighbouring territories. And Israel is beginning, I think, more generally to worry that its soft power image around the world is being very seriously damaged by these repeated daily stories of atrocities against people in Gaza in particular who are just seeking food for their children.

1:32The British Medical Association has warned that patients could be unsafe in NHS hospitals during a five-day strike beginning later this week. The union claims a decision not to cancel all routine appointments means that senior doctors will be spread too thinly to provide emergency and urgent care. Up to 50 ,000 resident doctors are set to join the strike from 7am on Friday. They're demanding a 29 % pay rise. It's been revealed Angela Rayner pushed for councils to be handed powers to tax tourists but was rebuffed by the Treasury The Deputy Prime Minister wanted directly elected mayors to charge their own levies on hotel stays as part of the government's devolution bill but the move was rejected by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves over fears that it could hit businesses already struggling with higher national insurance taxes and rises in the minimum wage Environmental campaigners have criticised the findings of a major review into the water system in England and Wales.

2:30A report by Sir John Cunliffe features 88 recommendations, but critics say it's unlikely to deliver any real change. The government has confirmed it will scrap the water regulator off water and has promised a new system of regulation to prevent the abuses of the past. Alistair Chisholm is Director of Policy at the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management. Speaking to Times Radio, he said reforms won't come cheap. We are going to have to pay, you know, at least as much the increased bills that are being faced by people now, if not even more in future, because there is such an investment backlog to bring this network up to the standards that we need it to operate at.

3:12And that is a legacy of the kind of asset-sweating behaviours that have gone on over the recent decades. And it's believed the US has stationed nuclear weapons in Britain. for the first time in nearly 20 years for potential use on a new squadron of RAF jets. A transport plane was tracked last Thursday during a 10-hour flight from the U.S. Air Force nuclear storage site in New Mexico to RAF Liggenheath in Suffolk. Analysts say the route looked like a one-way drop-off of B-61 nuclear bombs that can be carried by new F-35A fighter jets. And remember, you can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:54This 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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