The Standard

Experts are hailing “promising” news of a Covid-19 vaccine that trials show to be 90 per cent effective. Its makers, Pfizer and BioNTech are calling it a "great day for science and humanity" but, if it really does work, when could the general population get to see it? We speak to Professor Karol Sikora, a former director of the World Health Organisation's cancer programme, who tells us how the vaccine works, and reveals how difficult it will be to roll it out internationally. 

Also, our political editor Joe Murphy has been talking to Downing Street sources about when they think President-elect Joe Biden will give Boris Johnson a phone call. There has been speculation that the Prime Minister may have to wait in turn behind European Union leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. Joe Biden has branded Brexit laws on the internal market as a threat to peace in Northern Ireland, but UK officials insist the two leaders agree on many issues including climate change.

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A growing number of Republicans are distancing themselves from President Donald Trump, who has doubled down on claims of voter corruption in the US election. Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, tweeted that the President's claims of fraud were "getting insane". The Evening Standard’s assistant news editor Michael Howie says some believe Mr Trump isn’t just making a bad moral decision but a bad strategic one, too.

And, the devastation facing London’s economy has bosses warned some businesses will never emerge from the ‘body blow’ of a second lockdown. England is just one day into four weeks of restrictions but central parts of the capital were already feeling the impact. Evening Standard business journalist Joanna Bourke says the extension of the furlough scheme has some worried lockdown will also be extended past December 2nd.

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Joe Biden is inching ever closer to the White House, but will his ambitions be dead on arrival if the Republicans hold the Senate? Our US correspondent, David Gardner, says the Democrat's going to struggle to get his big ideas, like healthcare reform, through without the upper chamber. He also says that Donald Trump's fighting tooth and nail to hold onto the top job, and even if the incumbent loses he will retain an extraordinary power in a divided country. 

Also, coronavirus cases are falling in swathes of London, so did the capital really need to shut up shop? The Evening Standard's deputy political editor Nicholas Cecil says Covid-19 infections are down in 19 out of 32 boroughs and the widespread declines are an encouraging sign that the rise in cases is now starting to plateau. On the first day of a new lockdown in England, Nicholas tells us questions are being asked about whether London can exit it early? 

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After another warning from the Speaker about the number of leaks coming out of the government, Boris Johnson told MPs why England has to go back into lockdown. The Prime Minister insisted the plans are “time limited” and he hopes to lift the latest draconian restrictions on December 2 when the country will return to the coronavirus tier system. But there has been no clear exit strategy announced. Our editorial column gives a six point plan on how lockdown could finally be lifted, and economist Stephen King looks ahead to what the country could look like after Covid-19. 

Also, Johnny Depp’s Hollywood career lies in tatters after a High Court judge ruled he was a violent abuser of wife Amber Heard during their tumultuous marriage.  The Pirates of the Caribbean star played a high-stakes gamble when he sued The Sun for libel over a 2018 article branding him a “wife beater”. Mr Justice Nicol has now delivered a devastating judgment for Depp, finding he had attacked his wife on 12 occasions and dismissing Depp’s libel claim. The Evening Standard's courts correspondent Tristan Kirk says it's a "terribly damaging" moment for the film star. 

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Councils and charities today warned they could be facing an "unprecedented rise" in rough sleeping numbers over the winter as furlough ends and town halls struggle with funding. Councils, who housed thousands of people during the first wave, are now struggling with funding. The Evening Standard’s local democracy reporter Rachael Burford says they’re anticipating £97 million in spending to help manage homelessness. 

And, President Donald Trump and his democratic challenger Joe Biden are in their final days of the 2020 election campaign. The candidates are set to barnstorm across America’s heartland as they race towards the White House. The Economist senior editor Anne McElvoy tells us how Mr Biden’s lead in the polls is impacting Mr Trump’s campaign and whether the President could be the first big political casualty of the pandemic.

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Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the party after refusing to accept the findings of a bombshell report into anti-Semitism during his tenure. The Equality and Human Rights Commission found the party was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination and the party has now been served with an unlawful act notice requiring it to tackle the issue. Our political editor Joe Murphy tells how the events unfolded.

And, The Duchess of Sussex’s High Court legal battle against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday has been delayed until autumn next year on secret grounds. Lawyers for Meghan argued in a private hearing that the trial should not happen in January, seeking a lengthy adjournment from Mr Justice Warby. Speaking in open court this morning, the judge ordered that the ten-day trial would now be heard nine months later in October or November 2021. Our courts correspondent Tristan Kirk tells us what we can expect to happen next.

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Environment Secretary George Eustice has called the current approach to coronavirus lockdowns in the UK right ‘for now’. As senior scientists warned of hospitals being overwhelmed with 25,000 coronavirus patients by the end of November, expectations are growing that Boris Johnson will reluctantly have to order a temporary major shutdown before the end of the year. Our political editor Joe Murphy tells us what the means for the Christmas break.

And, Comic Relief has dropped trips to Africa for celebrities like Ed Sheeran and Stacey Dooley following criticism of “white saviour” charity appeals. For Red Nose Day 2021 the charity will hire local filmmakers and photographers for a “more authentic perspective”. Executive director or anti-poverty charity War on Wants Asad Rehman says it's a welcome move but, celebrities still have their place in raising awareness.

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