Morning briefing Wednesday 27th August

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 the Times Morning Briefing for Wednesday the 27th of August. Plans for French police to intercept migrant boats at sea are under threat because of the potential collapse of France's government over its budget plans.

0:47The French cabinet agreed in June to change the way in which maritime law is interpreted to enable border police and coast guard vessels to intercept migrant boats within 300 metres of the coast. But in what's being seen as a setback to Sakhir Starmer's efforts to get a grip on the small boats crisis, the reinterpretation of French law could be at risk from an imminent confidence vote. The Times' David Chazan is in Paris. If a new government is formed by a prime minister named by Macron, those agreements aren't going to be its top priority. It's going to be primarily concerned with trying to get a budget passed.

1:27So all of that goes onto the back burner, I'm afraid. Sir Keir Starmer has made a forthright defence of the European Convention on Human Rights and said those calling for the country to leave it were not serious people. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said that Britain would leave the convention if his party won the next general election to facilitate mass deportations. Sir David Lidington is a chair of the Royal United Service Institute and a former Conservative Cabinet Minister. Speaking to Times Radio, he illustrated how the convention underpins agreements on trade, migration and security.

2:04The European Convention on Human Rights is at the heart of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. It is a condition of the trade and cooperation agreement we have with the European Union following Brexit and also cooperation on police and criminal justice matters that helps us to track down international criminals. Artisan cheese, olives and premium sausages could be cheaper in British supermarkets as ministers aim to strike a permanent deal with the European Union. But critics say any extended agreement would give Brussels a veto over Britain's animal welfare and food safety rules. Nick Thomas-Simmons, the EU relations minister, will today argue that aligning Britain with the EU's regulations would both enhance growth and lower food prices.

2:52Guinness World Records is celebrating its 70th anniversary by announcing 70 unusual and unclaimed records. The organisation's first volume was published on this day in 1955, prompting worldwide curiosity about record-breaking achievements. One current holder is Liz West. She owns more than 5 ,000 pieces of Spice Girl memorabilia. Having the accolade from Guinness World Records really allowed me to forge my career as an artist. It allowed me to continue exhibiting, it gave me credentials and it allowed me ultimately to work full-time as an artist, which is the dream. And day three of the US Open was largely one to forget for British tennis with defeats in the women's singles for Katie Bolter, Sonny Cartal and Fran Jones.

3:41Billy Harris is out of the men's singles. You can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio Online. 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. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale.

4:27Discover more at pwc.co.uk

4:34This week on The Business, part two of our mini-series Power Struggle. We're asking, will Andy Burnham say yes to more oil and gas exploration in the North Sea? We've gone from an energy exporter as a country to an energy importer. I think it's a tabist to you. Join me, Hannah Prevett and me, Dominic O 'Connell for weekly conversations from the world of business and entrepreneurship Follow us wherever you get your podcasts or find our channel on YouTube by searching Times Business