Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing him a possible prison sentence for gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.

The Democratic president had previously said he would interfere in the justice process after Hunter’s convictions in the two federal cases in Delaware and California. The “full and unconditional pardon” comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive to be sentenced after his trial conviction in the gun case - with much of the incriminating material coming from his notorious laptop - and guilty plea on tax charges. 

The u-turn comes less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

The Standard podcast is joined by Professor Gina Yannitell Reinhardt, US politics and public policy expert at the University of Essex.

In part two, British drivers will see a shake-up of the road tax rules in the spring, with a new emissions-based charging system and EV drivers paying for the first time.

We hear both sides of the debate, with Brian Mooney, campaign manager at Fair Deal for the Motorist, and David Bailey, professor of business economics at the Birmingham Business School.

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