The Standard

Downing Street has confirmed Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak will be fined for breaking Covid restrictions.

No10 said the Prime Minister and Chancellor were among those set to be handed fixed penalty notices over the partygate scandal.

It has led to fresh calls for the Prime Minister to resign, including from opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer.

The Evening Standard’s Political Editor Nicholas Cecil discusses what the fines mean for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, whether he’s at risk of losing his role as prime minister, and what impact these fines may have on the Conservative party.

Follow us on Twitter for more news @EveningStandard

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A new poll by the National Education Union has found almost half of teachers in England plan to quit their job in the next five years.

A fifth of the 1,788 teachers surveyed said they would leave within two years.

The NEU said heavy workload was a ‘significant factor’ in their decision to leave, as well as concerns about the level of trust in teachers from the public and Government, pay, and accountability.

It’s as the NEU is today calling for Ofsted to be replaced - claiming it’s an “unfair and unreliable inspectorate” which has driven up unnecessary workload and stress for teachers.

In response to the poll, a Department for Education spokesperson said teaching “remains an attractive and fulfilling profession”, and the number of teachers in our schools remains high. 

We spoke with London teacher Kiri Tunks about the poll, what life is like as a teacher, and what changes she wants to see for the education system.

For all the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard 

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This is an Invitation to Meet Anna Chokina, CEO of Cellular Goods. They’re a cannabinoid wellness start-up, trying to make headway in an emerging market, where competition is already fierce and getting stronger all the time. They’re offering CBD and CBG products from health supplements to skin care, but how do you persuade customers to try something new?

It’s a problem Anna’s had to overcome before in her many jobs for huge companies including Avon, PepsiCo and Procter and Gamble, but is it harder in a startup?

In this show we talk about:

• The visit to an Alaskan pot shop where Anna discovered CBD products
• The CBD market and its difficulties, including reputational ones
• The public’s rediscovery of science since the pandemic

You can listen to the full interview in our An Invitation To Meet series here.

For more business news, interviews and analysis go to standard.co.uk/business

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Dame Cressida Dick officially leaves her post as Met Commissioner this Sunday and the Evening Standard can exclusively reveal that in an explosive ‘letter to London’, she slams the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. Accusing him of damaging the entire justice system by the “politicisation of policing”.

Our Crime Correspondent, Anthony France, who broke the story, discusses what we know about the complicated relationship between the outgoing Met chief and the Mayor of London, as well as what will be Dame Cressida’s legacy now she’s gone. 

Today we talk about:

• How we got here (0:40)
• What is this ‘letter to London’ (1:30)
• Does Dame Cressida have a point about the “politicisation of policing” (3:12)
• Dame Cressida’s legacy (6:46)

For the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard

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A piece of Earth’s history has just been found. Scientists have discovered a fossil of a perfectly preserved dinosaur leg that may have been ‘ripped off’ by the asteroid that sparked a mass extinction.

It was unearthed at a site in Tanis, North Dakota, 3,000km away from the asteroid impact site in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s one of a number of impressive finds from the location. 

Professor Paul Barrett, dinosaur specialist from the Natural History Museum, explains the significance of this 66-million-year-old find.

Today we talk about:

• The significance of the discovery (02:50)
• Other findings at this particular site (04: 09)
• The upcoming Sir David Attenborough BBC documentary on the Tanis site (05:34)

For the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard

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There’s another blow in the cost of living crisis. From today the National Insurance increase comes into effect. It means that workers, businesses and the self-employed will now pay an extra 1.25p in the pound. 

The Evening Standard’s Consumer Business Editor, Jonathan Prynn, explains what this all means for Londoners who are already feeling the pinch. 

Today we talk about:

• The changes coming in today (01:17)
• What it means for Londoners (03:10)
• Should we be preparing for any other upcoming price increases, taxes or other costs? (07:10)

For the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard

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No-fault divorce is being introduced in England and Wales tomorrow (Wednesday 6th April 2022). It’s the biggest divorce reform in 50 years and means that partners wishing to split no longer have to assign blame or wait anything from two to five years to start the legal process.

We hear from Nigel Shepherd, the former chair of Resolution who led their campaign to bring in no-fault divorce. He’s also a highly experienced family lawyer.

Today we talk about:

• What the previous rules were & the new process coming in (01:27)
• Why it’s taken so long to change the law (03:15)
• Why he led Resolution’s campaign for no-fault divorce (03:59)
• His response to critics (05:36)
• Will the new process coming in put added strain on the courts? (06:27)

For the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard

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The great Easter getaway has started but it’s off to a bumpy start to say the least. EasyJet and BA have cancelled hundreds of flights because of staff shortages. Elsewhere, there’s disruption at Eurotunnel and ongoing issues with ferries at Dover too.

Simon Calder, the Independent’s Travel Correspondent, explains all you need to know about the chaos. 

Today we talk about:

• The problems with BA and easyJet (01:55)
• Advice to people planning on flying with them soon (03:09)
• Eurotunnel disruption and issues at Dover (04:18)

For the latest news follow us on Twitter @EveningStandard

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The CEO of Huel, James McMaster, invites us to their HQ in Hertfordshire for a fascinating chat about how the meal replacement company has grown from a garage to international success.

Listen to the full episode HERE.

We talk about the astonishing speed of growth in 6 years, that’s taken the company to a revenue run rate of $100,000. How did they do that? And did anything go wrong on the way?

James also tells us about his route to CEO, from being the kid that reads the business pages before the sports ones in the newspaper, to running a company – via several other careers in finance and the food industry.

Additional Material

“Master Chief” - Waze

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As a new series of DNA Journey launches on ITV next week, we have spoken with Brad Argent, Senior Director of International Programming at Ancestry about what to expect from the series.

He discusses how the stories continue to get better, and how the technology behind the DNA research is improving.

Also in this episode:

• How the DNA technology has moved on since 2019 (1.22)
• Celebrities "becoming someone else" during the process (3.04)
• How they're telling original stories (4.08)
• What happens when stories change during research (4.57)
• The tools used to trace DNA back to the past (5.58)
• Will Ancestry will use its DNA tech to look back further in time? (7.21)

Follow us on Twitter for more news, features and analysis @EveningStandard

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