Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting

he has said he is “incredibly angry” to learn of allegations that Tory candidates placed bets on the election date, calling it a “really serious matter.”Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting.

The prime minister told the BBC Question Time leader’s special that “it’s right they’re being investigated by relevant law enforcement” and he is “crystal clear that if anyone has broken the rules they should face [the] full force of the law”.

Asked why those under suspicion haven’t been suspended, Mr Sunak said an investigation had to take place first – but anyone guilty would be “booted out” of the party.

Election latest: Audience shouts ‘shame’ in latest TV showdown

Laura Saunders, the candidate for Bristol North West, is married to its director of campaigns, Tony Lee. The couple are being investigated by the Gambling Commission.Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting

Ms Saunders said she “will be co-operating with the Gambling Commission” probe, while her husband “took a leave of absence” from his role on Wednesday night, a Conservative Party spokesman told Sky News.

It comes a week after the prime minister’s close parliamentary aide Craig Williams, the Tory candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, admitted to putting a “flutter” on the election, saying this has resulted in “some routine inquiries” which he was co-operating with “fully”.

A close protection officer has also been arrested

Mr Sunak’s close protection officer has also been arrested and suspended over alleged bets about the timing of the election.

A gambling industry source told Sky News that “more names” are being looked at, though police “are not involved” in those cases.

Data from Betfair appears to show a flurry of bets on a July poll placed on 21 May, the day before Mr Sunak called the election – including some in the hundreds of pounds at odds that would have resulted in profits in the thousands.Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting

The prime minister was asked by an audience member, to a round of applause, if the allegations are “the absolute epitome of the lack of ethics that we have had to tolerate from the Conservative party for years and years”.

He replied: “I was incredibly angry to learn of these allegations. It is a really serious matter.”

“I want to be crystal clear that if anyone has broken the rules, they should face the full force of the law.”

Mr. Sunak was asked why the candidates have not been suspended during the investigations. He responded, “The integrity of that process should be respected.”

He added: “What I can tell you is if anyone is found to have broken the rules, not only should they face the full consequences of the law, I will make sure that they are booted out of the Conservative Party.”

Calls to suspend Tory candidates

Campaign sources from the Labour Party told Sky News they noticed the odds for a July election narrowing on 21 May. The next day, on 22 May, Mr Sunak announced the election.

Earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for Ms Saunders’ suspension. It is very telling that Mr Sunak has not done so yet.Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting

“If it were one of my candidates, they would be removed,” Sir Keir stated. “Their feet would never have touched the floor,” he continued.

Mr Sunak faced many questions about trust during the BBC grilling, with the first audience member asking if he would “confess to [a] small amount of embarrassment” after having five Tory prime ministers in the last seven years and the UK becoming something of an “international laughingstock”.

The Tory leader acknowledged that “very clearly mistakes had been made.” He asked the public to judge him based on the last 18 months in office.

He faced shouts of “shame” when he launched an attack on the European Court of Human Rights. The crowd also shouted this phrase. He was glad he called the election when he did, despite his poll numbers continuing to decline since then.

The prime minister named the date of the election despite having a 20-point deficit. He has failed to make up ground in the campaign, which has been dominated by political gaffes. Notably, the prime minister left early from the D-day event.Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting

The gambling scandal

The gambling scandal was the latest blow, after multiple projections of a historic Labour landslide and a number of big figures – from a former Tory donor to a former Tory minister – announcing they would back Sir Keir for the first time ever when polling day comes around.

In response to Mr. Sunak’s BBC performance, Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, stated: Mr. Sunak has gone from dodging D-Day. Wilson added that the prime minister has blundered on betting.

“If he was truly angry about this scandal these Conservative candidates would have been suspended,” she said.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s National Campaign Coordinator, said Mr Sunak’s “performance tonight was an abject failure”.

The Tories responded: “It was clear from the debate tonight that Keir Starmer spoke what he believed…” “The audience wanted to hear.”

Mr Sunak will step up warnings about handing Labour “a blank cheque” at the election later today.

Starmer grilled on U-turns

Mr. Sunak faced questions during Sir Keir’s grilling session. The main topics of the questioning were Sir Keir’s past support for Jeremy Corbyn and his multiple policy U-turns.

The Labour leader avoided answering questions about his sincere belief in his predecessor’s capability to make a “great” prime minister. However, he asserted that his predecessor would have been a better choice than Boris Johnson, who ultimately won in 2019.

On his U-turns, such as rowing back on a promise to abolish university tuition fees and nationalise energy, Sir Keir said he was a “common sense politician” and those pledges were no longer financially viable after the damage the Tories had done to the economy.

Mr. Starmer will be in Scotland today. He will pledge that Labour’s industrial strategy would deliver nearly Num0 jobs.Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting

Davey confronted over-coalition years

The event featured Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey as a speaker. He was questioned about his record during the coalition years and as postal affairs minister during the Horizon scandal.

Student questioned him about his party’s abandoned promise to scrap tuition fees during the coalition era. He acknowledged the challenges of leading the government and expressed sympathy for the loss of faith among young people. “I understand why your generation lost faith in us,” he said. “It was a difficult government to be in.”

During his time as postal affairs minister between 2010 and 2012, and whether he was proud of the role, he said he made “two big mistakes,” including failing to initially meet campaigner Alan Bates and not seeing through assurances given to him by the Post Office that there was nothing wrong with the faulty IT system that led to hundreds of wrongful convictions.

On the campaign trail today

On the campaign trail today, the Lib Dem leader will call for urgent reform. You will find the Lib Dem leader calling for an end to the “appalling situation” in NHS dentistry. The Lib Dem leader will call for urgent reform on the campaign trail today. The situation in NHS dentistry is “appalling,” and the Lib Dem leader wants to end it.Rishi Sunak condemns allegations of election date betting

Meanwhile, SNP leader John Swinney was asked about his continued calls for independence. “Scotland would be better as an independent country.”

“I want Scotland to be an independent country, similar to Denmark, Ireland, or Sweden.” “When you look at those countries, they are more prosperous.” They are more equal. They are fairer than Scotland and the United Kingdom.” Or

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage expressed disappointment over being excluded from the leaders’ panel. However, he will appear on a separate Question Time session next week. He is expected to campaign in Clacton today.

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