General election latest: Rishi Sunak rocked by gambling scandal as Tory chief steps back from campaign

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Rishi Sunak has been rocked by an election betting scandal after a Conservative candidate and her husband are being investigated over a bet relating to the timing of the general election.

Tory candidate for Bristol North West Laura Saunders and the party’s director of campaigning Tony Lee are currently being looked into by the Gambling Commission.

The couple are the latest party members to face gambling allegations after Craig Williams apologised over betting on the date of the general election.

It comes as a police officer in Rishi Sunak’s close protection team was arrested and suspended over alleged bets about the timing of the general election.

The prime minister is now facing calls to suspend the probed members with the Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper labelled the situation an “utter disgrace” and Labour’s campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden urged Mr Sunak to withdraw support from candidates.

Nigel Farage, who is campaigning in Cheshire, has said the Tories are “bitterly divided” while speaking to rural voters.

Key Points

• Tory betting scandal: Starmer calls candidates to be suspended
• Tory director of campaigning ‘takes leave of absence’
• Labour calls Sunak to suspend two Tory candidates in gambling probe
• Tories are ‘bitterly divided’, says Nigel Farage
• Reform urged to suspend candidate over ‘sickening insults’ about monarchy

Starmer denies Labour official claimed party should “flatten the whole green belt”.

Sir Keir Starmer has denied a Labour Party official said a future government should “flatten the whole green belt”.

Politico’s London Playbook quoted an unnamed party official on Thursday, who said: “I don’t care if we flatten the whole green belt, we just need more houses in this country.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted the quote to his feed on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: “Good to finally get Labour’s real views on Britain’s green belt.”

At a housing development in North Yorkshire, the Labour leader told journalists: “No, that wasn’t Labour Party officials. That wasn’t Labour Party policy.

“What we will do is we will build the one and a half million houses that we need over the next five years on projects like this, with the facilities they need, because what you need here is the schools and the GPs and the facilities that are needed for housing.

“We will get on and do the building we need to do, but we’d of course protect the countryside, as you’d expect.”

The Tories are fighting to avoid ‘unaccountable Labour majority'

Sir Ed Davey slams Tory betting scandal ‘immoral and illegal’

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey was asked about the betting allegations as he campaigned in Sheffield, describing what appears to have been happening as “corruption”.

He said: “It think it’s quite awful.

“The idea that you bet on something when you know the result, that is immoral, it is illegal, and I can’t believe people at the top of the Conservative Party are doing this and have allowed this to happen.

“This is corruption, frankly, and it needs to have a heavy hand from the top.”

Sir Ed said: “We think there should be a Cabinet Office inquiry. I think the Gambling Commission will rightly look at this.

“I hope they come down heavy on those people who look like – I haven’t seen the details but they look like – they’ve acted illegally and immorally.”

Gove ‘lost for words’ over betting scandal

Michael Gove has said he is “almost lost for words’ after three Tory members were accused of placing a bet on when the election would be held.

Although he said the party will have to wait for the investigations to conclude, he said: “You shouldn’t be using inside information to try to make a few hundred quid on the side. That is just not acceptable.”

It’s “terrible”, he said and he was “disappointed” as the “future of this election really matters to me and my children”.

Boris Johnson to release memoir book ‘Unleashed’

General election: Where all the party manifestos stand on key areas from NHS to immigration

Where do all the party manifestos stand on key policy areas?

The Independent’s guide to all the major party manifestos ahead of the general election

Snap poll says majority of public think parties are not running honest campaigns

New poll suggests nearly three in five (59%) UK adults have very little or no confidence that the political parties have run honest campaigns.

But the perception is most strongly felt amongst people who are undecided on how to vote on 4 July, more than three-quarters of whom (77%) said the campaigns have not been honest.

The snap poll by Savanta for Full Fact suggested that the campaign may have hit undecided voters hardest with 78% of people not confident that the parties have run honest campaigns.

Chris Morris, Chief Executive of Full Fact, said: “Political parties need to stop hammering away at one another with misleading statistics and start an honest dialogue with the country about the issues at stake.

“In these last weeks of the campaign, politicians need to realise that the people yet to make up their mind are amongst the most likely to think that political parties haven’t been straight with them. And the window to persuade them that more honest, transparent politics is on the ballot is closing fast.”

Led By Donkeys activists draw Farage image onto the beach in Blackpool

Gove: Tories ‘wouldn’t need’ to be warned against putting bets on election

Michael Gove has said he hopes General Election candidates “wouldn’t need to be told” not to make bets on an election they may have insider knowledge of.

Asked whether whips or the Conservative Party had warned campaigners not to engage in gambling behaviour linked with an election, the Levelling Up Secretary said: “I would hope you wouldn’t need to be told.

“Obviously, if as a private individual I put a bet on the Grand National or on the Euros, that’s one thing, but using privileged inside information is wrong.

“As a general rule, one certainly shouldn’t place commercial bets on political matters if you’ve got that sort of information. I can imagine, between two friends, you might have a bet on the, you know, price of dinner, something over which you’ve got no influence, so I could imagine, for the sake of argument, two politicians having a bet over whether or not it’s going to be (Donald) Trump or (Joe) Biden, something like that.”

Mr Gove added he would not want to be “puritan” about betting but said: “It is concerning if people use inside information in the way that’s been alleged or reported.”

Starmer refuses to say whether he would meet Trump for Nato talks

Sir Keir Starmer has declined to say whether he would meet former US president Donald Trump at the Nato summit in Washington D.C.

The Labour leader said: “Well, I’m not going to get ahead of myself by suggesting what might happen the other side of the election.

“What I will say is this – that the Labour Party has a proud history when it comes to Nato.

“We were a founding signatory to the treaty, which was in Brussels, with (Ernest) Bevin’s signature on it. We’re absolutely committed to Nato. That’s an unshakable commitment.

“We will, of course, work with others in relation to anything to do with Nato, which we are already doing in opposition.”

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