UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Britain’s gambling regulator has alleged that five more police officers bet on the timing of the country’s July 4 national election, the Metropolitan Police said Tuesday, as claims widen that people close to the government used inside information for their own profit.The Metropolitan Police said the Gambling Commission passed on information on the five officers’ alleged misconduct. The officers, who provided protection for royalty, politicians and diplomats, have not been arrested.An investigating by the gambling watchdog is ongoing, police said. The development comes after it emerged that several members of the governing Conservative Party and one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s police bodyguards were being investigated for allegedly using inside information to place bets on the date of the election before it was announced.The bodyguard was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office.The scandal, coming just days ahead of the national election, has overshadowed the Conservatives’ campaign. The party is widely expected to lose to the opposition Labour Party after 14 years in power.On Tuesday, the Conservative Party said it was pulling support for two election candidates, Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, who were under investigation by the Gambling Commission over the alleged betting. But because nominations have closed, both politicians will remain on the ballot paper. Williams said he would continue with his campaign, is cooperating with the commission and plans to clear his name. “I committed an error of judgment, not an offense, and I want to reiterate my apology directly to you,” he said in a video posted on the X social media platform. Williams was Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary as well as a member of Parliament running for reelection on July 4. He has acknowledged that he was being investigated for placing a 100-pound ($128) bet on a July election days before the date had been announced.Saunders’ husband, Tony Lee, the Conservative director of campaigning, has taken a leave of absence following allegations he was also investigated over alleged betting.A fourth Conservative, the party’s chief data officer Nick Mason, was also reportedly being investigated over the matter. On Tuesday, Labour said it had suspended one of its own parliamentary candidates, Kevin Scott, after being told the Gambling Commission was investigating him over betting on the outcome of the race in his constituency. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Independent is giving readers the chance to chat directly with candidates from some of the major political parties in a special general election series of Ask Me Anything events.In this question and answer session, our community can chat exclusively with SNP candidate Drew Hendry, who is looking to hold his seat on July 4.Hendry was first elected in 2015, then again in 2017 and 2019. He is the SNP candidate for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-Shire and currently serves as the SNP’s Westminster spokesperson for the economy.In its manifesto, the party makes it plain that it wants to rejoin the European Union and the single market, and “reverse the damage of Brexit”. That only looks likely to be an option if Scotland becomes independent, so it’s unsurprising that the SNP is also pledging to “intensify” the pressure to secure Scottish independence.If you have a question about the SNP’s manifesto, pledges or policies submit it now, or when Drew Hendry joins you live at 1pm on Thursday June 27 for the “Ask Me Anything” event.Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article.Scroll down or click here to leave your comment.If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until the Q&A starts. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAnother five police officers are alleged to have placed bets on the timing of the general election. The Metropolitan Police said it had been passed information on the allegations from the Gambling Commission. It came after Rishi Sunak finally bowed to pressure and withdrew the Conservative Party’s support for two candidates embroiled in the betting scandal.The Tories have dropped Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, both of whom are linked to the prime minister’s inner circle and are under investigation by the commission. But two weeks after allegations first emerged even a Conservative former cabinet minister asked “why did it take so long”.Craig Williams, who is facing a Gambling Commission probe, is one of the PM’s closest aides (UK Parliament/PA) More

Tory election betting probe: ‘Totally unacceptable’ if rules broken says Welsh secretarySign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFive more Met Police officers have been accused of placing bets on the date of the general election, as the scandal continues to overshadow the campaign trails leading up to 4 July. A Met Police spokesperson said the Gambling Commission passed on the information regarding the officers to the force as it continues to investigate. “The officers have not been arrested but the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed,” they added. The officers are based on the royalty and specialist command, the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command and the central west basic command unit.It comes as the Tories suspended two candidates who are being investigated by the Gambling Commission. Former Brexit minister Lord Frost has joined growing calls for the prime minister to explain why it took nearly two weeks to act. The PM previously ruled out suspending the candidates until the independent body had concluded its investigation.Show latest update 1719326987Voters believe betting scandal candidates should be suspendedVoters think candidates who had placed bets on the election date should be barred from standing, Kate Devlin reports.Two thirds of the public, 63 per cent, say candidates who placed bets on the date of the general election should not be allowed to stand.And more than half, 54 per cent, of Conservative voters agree.The Savanta research was carried out between 21 and 24 June, before today’s announcement the Tories were withdrawing their support for Craig Williams and Laura Saunders.Salma Ouaguira25 June 2024 15:491719326387Chicken runs, boundary changes and a battle of economists: On the campaign trail in new constituency HitchinSalma Ouaguira25 June 2024 15:391719326091Tory chairman’s campaign leaflets sent to wrong constituency Hundreds of campaign leaflets for the chairman of the Conservative party Richard Holden have been sent to the wrong constituency, the BBC reports. The party has admitted the mistake was out of their control but it did not confirm how many were lost. Mr Holden, who oversees the national party campaigning, has seen his election material end up in Rayleigh and Wickford. He confirmed that just a “few hundred” leaflets were misplaced but some party insiders have admitted it is more like thousands.Salma Ouaguira25 June 2024 15:341719325630Craig Williams speaks up after being suspended from Conservative partyThe candidate for Montgomeryshire, who has been dropped by the Tories as a candidate over bettingon the election timing, has admitted he committed a mistake.Craig Williams said he remained on the ballot paper and intended to clear his name after being dropped by the Conservatives over betting on the date of the General Election.In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Williams said: “I just want a quick message to the constituents of Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr. I remain on the ballot paper come July 4 and I hope to secure your support after years of delivery.“I committed an error of judgment, not an offence, and I want to reiterate my apology directly to you.“I am fully co-operating with routine inquiries from the Gambling Commission and I intend to clear my name.”Salma Ouaguira25 June 2024 15:271719325458Faiza Shaheen accuses Labour of telling ‘vicious lies’ about her deselectionThe former candidate, who is now running as an independent after being dropped from the party, claims Labour members are spreading “vicious lies” about her deselection. Ms Shaheen claims the party told voters she was suspended for “more serious reasons”.Salma Ouaguira25 June 2024 15:241719324800Akshata Murty joins Jeremy Hunt in the campaign trailSalma Ouaguira25 June 2024 15:131719324380Gething: ‘If a professional footballer had placed a bet, he’d be banned’Vaughan Gething has said that a footballer would be banned from the game if they placed a bet in the way Conservative candidates have been accused of doing.Responding to a question from Conservative MS Natasha Asghar on his own integrity at FMQs on Tuesday, Mr Gething said: “If you really want to talk about scandals – and today is a day to do that, is it not, Natasha Asghar – look at former Conservative Senedd staffer Craig Williams, now finally junked as a Conservative candidate.The first minister of Wales added: “And let’s be clear if a professional footballer had placed a bet in the way that Craig Williams did, he’d be banned from the game.“That’s what would happen.”Salma Ouaguira25 June 2024 15:061719323900Exclusive: EU could have learnt from Habsburgs to avoid Brexit, says descendantSalma Ouaguira25 June 2024 14:581719323727Osborne slams Sunak’s betting scandal response ‘totally inadequate’George Osborne has criticised Rishi Sunak’s response to the Tory betting scandal as “totally inadequeate” and branded the prime minister nor a “real political leader”.Speaking on his Political Currency podcast the former Conservative chancellor said: “What Rishi Sunak consistently fails to do is take difficult situations and try and turn them, if not to your advantage, at least to try and illustrate some of your strengths.“When you’re in a room and you’ve got a scandal emerging you’ve got a choice which is to try and muddle through, and it almost always never works.“You think you can hide away and that’s presumably what Sunak’s thinking.“Or you try and turn the thing into a moment for you. That’s the kind of raw instinct that I think real political leaders, real strong prime ministers have.”Salma Ouaguira25 June 2024 14:551719323300Nigel Farage attends the TRI AwardsSalma Ouaguira25 June 2024 14:48 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailIn the picturesque Hertfordshire market town of Hitchin, the Tory and Labour general election campaigns have been neatly summed up.Contesting the seat for Labour is 34-year-old ex-Bank of England economist Alistair Strathern, who proudly describes himself as an acolyte of “Sir Keir Starmer’s changed Labour Party”.Hoping to hold the seat for the Conservatives is 38-year-old former HSBC executive Bim Afolami, the Treasury economic secretary elected to parliament in 2017.Leaflets for Mr Afolami’s campaign, seen by The Independent on a visit to the constituency, show he is hoping to win as a strong local champion for the area.But voters spoken to by this paper said the minister’s close association with the Conservatives nationally, as he is often wheeled out to defend the party on broadcast rounds, has tarnished his reputation in the area.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.Conservative candidate Bim Afolami was elected in 2017 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has finally bowed to pressure and withdrawn the Conservative Party’s support for two candidates embroiled in the general election betting scandal.The Tories have dropped Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, both of whom are linked to the prime minister’s inner circle and are under investigation by the Gambling Commission. But two weeks after allegations first emerged even a Conservative former cabinet minister asked “why did it take so long”.The commission is looking into alleged bets on the date of the election, made before Mr Sunak announced it would take place on 4 July.Mr Sunak had withstood days of mounting calls to suspend those caught up in the row, with Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker the latest senior Tory to call for action.In a bid to head off criticism on Monday, the prime minister announced the Conservatives were conducting their own probe into the row. Now the party says that “as a result of ongoing internal enquiries” it can no longer support either candidate. Craig Williams served as the Prime Minister’s parliamentary private secretary (UK Parliament/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailVictoria Atkins has denied that her intervention this morning on the trans debate had anything to do with opening up a new “culture wars” front in the general election or her own leadership ambitions.The health secretary was wheeled out by the Conservatives this morning to respond to Labour’s plans to modernise the laws regarding changing gender.It comes after a poll last night again showed the Tories even trailing Reform in third place and still 25 points behind Labour as the gambling scandal on the election date continued to hit their credibility.Ms Atkins is already being discussed as a future leadership option after what now seems to be an inevitable defeat for the Tories with polls suggesting that it could be the worst in their 346-year history.Health Secretary Victoria Atkins spoke about the protection of women and girls in public services and society (Lucy North/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour will keep the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge in use if elected next week, Yvette Cooper has confirmed.The party has said it cannot end the use of the vessel immediately if it wins the general election, but that it wants to end the need for barges and hotels “as fast as possible”. The shadow home secretary was quizzed about Labour’s plans for Bibby Stockholm, which she has criticised in the past over its “eye watering” cost.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.Asked during a debate on LBC whether she would take asylum seekers off the barge on day one of a Labour government, Ms Cooper said: “No, obviously you can’t do that on day one.“I think we need to end these extortionate barges, military bases and hotels… we want to do that as fast as possible but what you have to do first of all, the system is broken, so we need to prevent small boats arriving in the first place and that means smashing the criminal gangs.”Home Secretary James Cleverly and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper take part in a live immigration debate on LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast (Jonathan Brady/PA) More