The Standard

While it used to be that when a footballer’s name was strewn across the front pages, it made for grim reading, now English footballers are dominating the headlines for all the right reasons. Manchester United forward 22-year-old Marcus Rashford is taking on the Government over its refusal to provide free school meal vouchers to pupils during school holidays. And, Manchester City’s 25-year-old Rahe...

The founder of revolutionary charity Teach First has warned the coronavirus pandemic risks undoing years of work spent improving education for poorer children in London and could create an “educational underclass”. Our education editor Anna Davis tells us how Brett Wigdortz is worried about an impending national crisis as London risks “backsliding” on all the good work that has been done to n...

More than 300 Tory MPs have been accused of “cruelty” after they voted against footballer Marcus Rashford’s bid to extend free school meals through the school holidays. Opposition figures branded the outcome ‘disgusting’ with many accusing the Government of “not caring” that the more than 1.4 million children eligible for free school meals would now go hungry. Our editorial column says hungry chil...

Every US election is billed as one of the most important of our times, but 2020 really will shape the globe as it either consigns the Trump presidency to history or validates his time as the head of the world's most powerful nation. In the first of weekly Leader episodes that will focus on the US election in the run up to November 3, Evening Standard Editor-in-Chief George Osborne and journalist P...

In January, up to 90 volunteers could be deliberately infected with Covid-19 in a bid to speed up development of vaccines and learn more about the virus. The group will be kept at the Royal Free hospital for two-and-a-half weeks in the world’s first ‘human challenge’ study for coronavirus. Dr Chris Chiu, from the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London and lead researcher on th...

Leading West End bar and restaurant operators warn they won’t survive the winter after a ‘horrendous’ first weekend of Tier-2 Covid-19 restrictions in the capital. Normally heaving streets were left desolate and ‘no mixing’ laws triggered tens of thousands of cancellations. The Evening Standard’s consumer business editor Jonathan Prynn spoke with restaurateurs and bar owners, saying the weekend wa...

Boris Johnson has dramatically told Britain to prepare for a No Deal Brexit after a bust-up with Brussels on trade talks. The Prime Minister put the country on notice that its EU departure at the end of the transition period on December 31st could be without a trade deal with the European bloc. The Evening Standard's deputy political editor Nicholas Cecil tells the podcast why the fallout hap...

Tighter Tier 2 restrictions are being imposed in London  to stop the Covid-19 epidemic worsening. But the government announcement hasn't stopped speculation that a much tougher 'circuit breaker' is still around the corner. Our education editor Anna Davis says the rumours have got headteachers worried that an effective 'lockdown 2' is on its way, with no way to prepare. Anna tells us how...

Boris Johnson's insisting his three-tier approach to tackling coronavirus just needs time to prove it works , but told the Commons earlier that he's "ruling nothing out" as pressure bears down on him to impose a "circuit breaker" approach. Some scientists, including the government's own SAGE advisors, say the draconian lockdown would be the most effective way to halt the infection's spread, but ec...

Despite the law making it mandatory, it's not uncommon to find people wandering around supermarkets without wearing a face mask. Now the big store bosses are being summoned to a meeting with government officials and the police to discuss why. An agenda for the meeting seen by the Evening Standard says it will be an  attempt to find ways to “collectively promote compliance”...

The government's describing how the new lockdown system will work, with areas being placed under three different types of restrictions. Our deputy political editor, Nicholas Cecil, tells us how the rules will operate and why some leaders in the north think they favour the south. He also reveals that a worrying rise in coronavirus cases in London means the city is likely to be put under Tier 2...

A new furlough scheme for areas affected by local lockdowns, paying two thirds of workers’ wages in businesses forced to close , is expected from Chancellor Rishi Sunak. But the Evening Standard's Jonathan Prynn says "son of furlough" will only be available to limited sectors in very few areas. Meanwhile, it looks like the Eat Out to Help Out scheme didn't bring the economic bump it was expected t...

The Commission on Presidential Debates says the next round between Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be held 'virtually;' but Mr Trump's refusing to have anything to do with it. He told Fox News the idea of the candidates being in separate locations is "not acceptable". It has, though, been done before when John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon faced off for the third time in 1960, 3, 000 miles apart.&nb...

London’s hospitality industry has lashed out at Boris Johnson’s ‘misguided’ 10pm curfew, saying it's causing huge damage to the economy without the scientific evidence to back up the health benefits . The industry’s most influential leaders say that a staggered system of rolling closing times would be safe and give venues a better chance at operating profitably. The Caterer’s deputy editor Emma La...

Boris Johnson promised to rebuild the nation from the ‘darkest moments’ of the Covid-19 pandemic as he addressed the Conservative Party conference. Following his huge election in, his speech should been the equivalent of a Roman triumph - instead the PM faced MPs who may be wondering if he is the man to lead them to the 2024 election? Our political journalist Sophia Sleigh says this is the time fo...

People may have caught Covid-19 because an Excel spreadsheet failure stopped nearly 16,000 cases being transferred swiftly to the test-and-trace system. The mistake's baffled medics like former World Health Organisation doctor Professor Karol Sikora, who joins the podcast to tell us it's not the first error, and the entire system needs overhauled. He also explains how the updated set of figur...

The White House is insisting it's business as usual in the Oval Office, with Donald Trump continuing to work despite testing positive for coronavirus. But, already there are signs the country's going through a political and cultural upheaval. Julie Norman, from UCL's US Politics Centre tells us how the second debate with Joe Biden hangs in the balance, and even the election date of November 3rd is...

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have given an exclusive interview to the Evening Standard , where they mark the start of Black History Month with a call for Britain to grasp an opportunity for change. Speaking to us from their new home in California, Harry and Meghan warn that young people of colour will be held back "as long as structural racism exists". They also discuss the Black Lives Matter mo...

#CutHisMic has been all over social media after a US presidential debate that descended into chaos . Moderator Chris Wallace seemed unable to control Donald Trump, who repeatedly shouted at, insulted and interrupted Joe Biden in Cleveland. Christopher Phelps, associate professor of American studies at Nottingham University, tells us why the TV network would have been reluctant to silence a si...

After weeks of uncertainty students have been told they can go home for Christmas if they want, although they might have to self-isolate before leaving. The education secretary Gavin Williamson's announcement has eased the anxiety of thousands who feared being stuck in halls of residence during the festive season. But our deputy political editor, Nicholas Cecil, says it leaves the government...

Ministers are not ruling out a new social clampdown in London and parts of England, which could see a ban on households mixing indoors, as well as pubs, restaurants and clubs closing for at least two weeks. It follows stark rises in coronavirus cases, including inside the Prime Minister' own constituency. Our associate editor Julian Glover says anxiety's raising across the country, and the go...

Urgent questions are being asked after a custody sergeant was shot dead by a suspect in a police station in Croydon. An investigation's underway into how the man, believed to have been arrested on suspicion of possessing ammunition, was apparently able to take a gun inside, and whether the weapon was missed in a search. The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, says an inquiry's underway, while Met Commiss...

Rishi Sunak's urging the country to “live without fear” after unveiling a new part-time Jobs Support Scheme and other measures designed to prop up the economy until a coronavirus vaccine is ready. The Chancellor's announced a multi-billion pound package of help to replace the costly furlough scheme, allowing millions to go part time while keeping around four-fifths or more of their earnings. But t...

Are divisions in the cabinet the cause of muddled messaging and seemingly contradictory guidelines being issued by the government on coronavirus? Senior editor of the Economist, Anne McElvoy joins us to explain what she calls the "Hawks and Doves" battling over whether to prioritise the economy or health as the country endures further, ever more complex, restrictions. She says Boris Johnson is try...

Boris Johnson has revealed a swathe of new coronavirus restrictions , as the country tries to fend of the infection's apparent revival. There are curfews on bars, strict new face mask policies, even the halving of the number of guests you can invite to a wedding. Guidance on returning to the office has been reversed, with the government now urging people to stay at home if they can. The Prime Mini...