Morning Briefing Tuesday 31st March

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 31st March. The Prime Minister will chair a COBRA meeting this afternoon where senior ministers will discuss the economic impact of the Iran war.

0:44It comes after Sakhir Starmer told business leaders in Downing Street yesterday that it must be a joint effort to tackle the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East. Chris Southworth, Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Commerce, told Times Radio the war will have an impact on the UK. It will all hit consumers, whether it's now or probably there's a lag time between now and when it absolutely hits the consumer. What can we do? It's all about being energy secure, moving much faster further, being much more aggressive in many ways from a government point of view to moving towards having our energy closer to home.

1:24Meanwhile, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves is in line for a multi-billion pound tax windfall as the war in the Middle East drives up those energy prices. Analysis for The Times suggests the government is making about£20 million more a day through levies and taxis linked to the price of oil and gas. Conservative MP Harriet Cross told Times Radio that extra money could go towards helping families. As VAT is charged a percentage, as the price goes up, the money that the Treasury gets back goes up. And that's exactly why the Conservatives have said that we would freeze VAT on bills for the next few years.

1:57Because at this time, particularly when households are seeing their costs rising, And if the Treasury are getting money that they didn't expect to get, it's right that that should go back to supporting households with their bills or with their fuel. Donald Trump's written a post on his Truth Social site threatening to obliterate Iranian energy sites if Tehran doesn't agree a peace deal shortly. But in the same post, the US president also claimed talks to end the war with a new and more reasonable regime are making great progress. Barbara Leaf, former US Assistant Secretary of State, told Times Radio his comments are extraordinary.

2:29I have no idea what to make of it, frankly. He's been meandering all over the rhetorical map. And in the same breath, he's saying he's going to obliterate civilian infrastructure. And then he pivots and says, but these are really sharp, canny guys and we can make a deal. So God knows. I'm not sure where we're headed, although I feel quite certain it's in an escalatory direction. Sir Keir Starmer writing in The Times this morning has issued an ultimatum to resident doctors to call off their strikes or lose the deal on the table. The Prime Minister has threatened to withdraw an offer of thousands of extra speciality NHS training posts.

3:06The British Medical Association is planning a six-day strike after Easter in their ongoing row over pay and conditions. Police have until this evening to question a man arrested after several pedestrians were hit by a car in Derby city centre. The 36-year-old was detained on suspicion of attempted murder shortly after the incident on Saturday night. Three of the seven people seriously injured have since been discharged from hospital. And shop price inflation edged up last month as higher costs resulting from the Middle East conflict started to feed into supply chains. Prices overall were 1.2 % higher than a year ago, up from 1.1 % in February.

3:44There's more on all of these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:55This 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 Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer.

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