General Election 2024 LIVE: Betting scandal spirals as Labour suspends candidate and Welsh Conservative faces probe

Labour has suspended parliamentary candidate Kevin Craig after being told the Gambling Commission has launched an investigation into him.

It is understood the probe is not linked to alleged bets on the election date, but that he is suspected of betting on the election result in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, where he was standing.

It comes after Welsh Conservative Russell George became the latest Tory to be investigated over alleged bets on the timing of the election, along with five more police officers.

An officer who worked in Rishi Sunak’s close protection team was previously arrested on a misconduct in public office offence over alleged bets.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Met said it had been passed information from the Gambling Commission alleging that five further officers have placed bets related to the timing of the election.

Some of the five other officers are based in specialist royal and parliamentary units, the force said. None have been arrested.

The latest revelation came after the Conservative Party dropped its support for two candidates being probed in the election date betting scandal.

Rishi Sunak’s former parliamentary aide Craig Williams, a candidate in Montgomeryshire & Glyndwr and Laura Saunders, a candidate in Bristol North West were both named as being investigated for allegedly placing bets on the election dates.

In a statement, a Tory spokesperson said it "can no longer support" either candidate, although they will still appear on the ballot as Conservative candidates as the deadline for changes has passed.

Starmer: Cutting knife crime is 'moral mission' for Labour

08:18 , Josh Salisbury

Good morning and welcome to day 34 of the election campaign.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is campaigning today on the issue of knife crime in north London, saying it will be a “moral mission” for a Labour government to reduce it.

He has said he wants ministers, victims and tech giants to work together to tackle the sale of weapons online and cut crime on the streets.

Sir Keir has pledged to chair an annual summit to track progress in meeting the goal of halving knife crime incidents within a decade.

He said: "Knife crime is an issue above and beyond party politics.

"For the parents grieving sons and daughters who never came home, action to end this scourge cannot wait.

"Far too often we hear the same stories from grieving families who have been subject to these brutal murders carried out by children."

Minister says he shares 'frustration' of candidate calling betting scandal 'shower of s**t'

08:21 , Josh Salisbury

A Conservative minister has said he shares the “frustration” of a Tory candidate who referred to the betting scandal engulfing the campaign as a “shower of s**t.”

Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson has said he agrees with the frustration expressed by former Olympic rower and Tory candidate James Cracknell.

Referring to the gambling scandal engulfing the Tory campaign, Mr Cracknell said in a social media video: "And if one of my teammates got caught for cheating, they'd be dead to me" and also described the party as a "shower of shit".

Asked about the "frustration" expressed by the electorate and Mr Cracknell, Mr Tomlinson told Sky News: "That's right, and I share his frustration.

“I agree with the frustration that's being expressed, more than frustration, the anger as well."

Labour vows to ban LGBT 'conversion therapy'

08:52 , Josh Salisbury

Labour has vowed to ban LGBT+ ‘conversion therapy’, a move which did not appear in the Conservatives’ manifesto.

The Conservatives had pledged since 2018 to introduce legislation prohibiting the practice, which attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

However, it does not feature in the manifesto, with ministers saying it is covered by existing criminal law.

There should not be any "undue reason for delay" in banning conversion therapy, shadow minister without portfolio Nick Thomas-Symonds has said.

Asked if Labour would ban the practice in their first 100 days, Labour shadow minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told Times Radio: "We will have to look at where the Government is up to but I can't see any undue reason for delay.

"I do think that conversion practices, which are deliberately and coercively trying to change or suppress someone's sexual or gender identity, is abhorrent and it does a great deal of damage to people.”

Yvette Cooper and James Cleverly face off on LBC

09:07 , Josh Salisbury

Home Secretary James Cleverly and his Labour shadow, Yvette Cooper, have begun facing off over immigration on LBC.

The pair are taking calls from members of the public.

Mr Cleverly begins by saying the Tories can be trusted to run the Home Office by pointing to more police officers being recruited.

“The choice people have in front of them is a Conservative Party that is committed to bringing down immigration, immigration is too high ... We’re committed to stopping the boats,” he says.

He adds: “That’s in stark contrast to the Labour Party who voted against these measures time and time again and who is led by someone who said all immigration law is racist.”

Cooper: It's time for change from 'Tory chaos'

09:09 , Josh Salisbury

Labour’s Yvette Cooper says Labour can be trusted with the Home Office because “everything is broken” under the Tories.

She says there is a big backlog of unresolved migration claims, and more crimes are going unsolved.

“They [the Conservatives] have had eight home secretaries, eleven immigration ministers, nine policing ministers all in the last eight years and the chaos has just got worse and worse, it’s time for change,” she says.

Labour refuses to have net migration target

09:17 , Josh Salisbury

In response to a question to caller Josie on reducing net migration, Labour’s Yvette Cooper says the Conservatives have failed to tackle the skills shortage.

She vows Labour will reduce net migration by reducing visas, instead turning to new training in key shortage areas.

“We won’t set a target because every time the Conservatives have done that, they’ve failed, they have discredited it,” she says. “[But] we do think it’s right to have a significant reduction.”

Ms Cooper insists upon questioning that she won’t set a net migration target, saying that external factors affect the number.

Met denies being behind gambling inquiry leaks

09:22 , Josh Salisbury

Away from the LBC immigration debate, the Met Police has denied being the source of leaks identifying those being investigated over alleged bets on the general election date.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Scotland Yard had briefed journalists on those being probed by the Gambling Commission, citing a Cabinet Office source.

This was flatly denied by the force, which said in a statement to the BBC: “The allegations that the Met has leaked information are simply untrue.”

The paper also reported that more police officers could be investigated over alleged election betting by using ‘insider’ information before the July 4 poll date was known.

Read more here.

Cooper and Cleverly clash over Rwanda

09:33 , Josh Salisbury

Labour’s Yvette Cooper has dodged a question on whether Labour would return migrants to a ‘safe’ third country as the Conservatives have pledged to do so under the Rwanda scheme.

Speaking on LBC’s immigration debate against counterpart Home Secretary James Cleverly, Ms Cooper criticised the Rwanda scheme but did not answer directly when asked if Labour would ever use a third-party country for returns.

“We will always look at anything that works but what we won’t do is spend £300m to return just two volunteers and three Home Secretaries,” she says.

Asked what third-party countries Labour could use for returns, she says: “That’s why we’re not setting out a mad plan like the Conservatives are. We’ve got gimmicks at the moment, spending £300m to send two volunteers [to Rwanda]”.

Mr Cleverly says Labour’s arrangements would mean the UK being a net recipient of migrants, if we had a sharing arrangement with other countries.

Ms Cooper angrily hits out at that suggestion as “garbage” and “made up”.

Home Secretary accuses Labour of plotting asylum amnesty

09:41 , Josh Salisbury

Labour’s Yvette Cooper has accused the Conservatives of ‘conning’ the public over the Rwanda scheme, saying it will not work to clear the backlog of asylum claims.

But Home Secretary James Cleverly hit back by accusing Labour of plotting an amnesty for those already here - which the party denies.

Speaking on LBC’s immigration debate, Ms Cooper says: “James Cleverly is conning people. He’s not sending 50,000 people to Rwanda, so far he’s managed to send two volunteers to Rwanda in two and a half years ... It is a con,” she says.

But Mr Cleverly responds: “If you have no safe third country at all, you are going to have to give an amnesty.”

Cleverly accuses Sadiq Khan of failing on knife crime in London

10:08 , Josh Salisbury

Home Secretary James Cleverly and Labour’s Yvette Cooper have clashed over knife crime in London, with Mr Cleverly accusing Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan of failing on the issue.

“In Labour-run London, the actions you need - failure to recruit officers, failure to retain officers, failure to have stop and search - actions speak louder than words ... it’s a criticism of the political leadership in London,” he says.

Labour’s Yvette Cooper says knife crime is rising countrywide, and that tackling knife crime should be a cross-party initiative.

Conservative Party drops support for 'election bets' candidates

10:45 , Josh Salisbury

The Conservative Party has dropped its support for two candidates being probed over alleged bets on the timing of the July 4 election.

Rishi Sunak’s former parliamentary aide Craig Williams, a candidate in Montgomeryshire & Glyndwr and Laura Saunders, a candidate in Bristol North West had both being named as being investigated for allegedly placing bets on the election dates.

In a statement, a Tory Party spokesperson said it "can no longer support" Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as candidates.

However, both will still appear on the ballot.

The Conservative Party’s data chief Nick Mason and director of campaigning Tony Lee have also been named as among those being probed over alleged election bets.

Labour: Why didn't Sunak act earlier?

11:09 , Josh Salisbury

Labour has responded to news that the Conservative Party dropping two of its candidates over alleged election bets by querying why it was not done sooner.

Craig Williams and Laura Saunders will still appear on the ballot as Conservative candidates, but will not have the backing of party machinery.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "Why didn't that happen a week ago?"

As well as the candidates, two senior Tory officials have taken a leave of absence amid a Gambling Commission probe - these are Ms Saunders' husband Tony Lee, the party's director of campaigning, and chief data officer Nick Mason.

A police officer who served in the Prime Minister's protection team has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over alleged bets on the election date.

Starmer: Labour will tackle zombie knives

11:20 , Josh Salisbury

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he will stop the online sale of zombie knives "straight away".

He told reporters in north London, where he is meeting families affected by knife crime, along with actor Idris Elba: "It's a problem that we all have responsibilities for so legislation on knives is a Government issue and the Government has failed on this issue.

“We will not fail on this issue. There are other measures, one of the families here their son was murdered by a knife that was sent through the post by a shop, ordered online in ordinary packaging and picked up by a 15-year-old who didn't need to show any identification.

"It's not rocket science. I will stop that straight away and I think it's so outrageous that that can even happen."

Atkins refuses to rule out leadership bid

11:50 , Josh Salisbury

Victoria Atkins has not ruled out running to be leader of the Conservative Party after the General Election.

The Health Secretary is seen as a possible contender to replace Rishi Sunak should he lead the Tories to defeat on July 4 as expected.

She joins other hopefuls - including Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Home Secretary James Cleverly - in jostling for the position with nine days to go until polling day.

Asked about her leadership ambitions, Ms Atkins told reporters in London: "I'm not entertaining any questions about my leadership. Come on.

"I want to campaign at the moment."

She had been speaking at a Tory press conference to respond to Labour's plans to ban conversion therapy, but denied the intervention was an effort to drive a wedge on trans rights.

Elba: Starmer 'listened' on need to tackle knife crime

12:15 , Josh Salisbury

Idris Elba has shared his thoughts on meeting with Keir Starmer in north London to talk about knife crime.

The actor and campaigner said they had a "very important" meeting with families of victims and campaign organisations to discuss "what we need to do as a country to fight this".

Speaking in a video posted to Instagram afterwards, Elba said: "We had a very wide conversation about what we need to do as a country to fight this. It was non-political, and I'm making that clear because this is a societal issue.

“But as someone that might be taking the hot seat, it was really important to hear what he had to say about his plans... Today he listened. He listened to what the organisations ... had to say."

Elba said he was there "as a concerned parent, concerned citizen".

Starmer says children are 'worried' about No10 move

13:27 , Josh Salisbury

Sir Keir Starmer's children will move into Downing Street with him if he wins the election but are "worried" about the prospect, the Labour leader has said.

Appearing on ITV, Sir Keir said he and his wife Victoria would "fiercely protect" their teenage children's privacy, but admitted he and they were still worried about the impact of a possible move to Number 10.

He said: "They are worried, if I'm honest. They are worried about it, because, I think any parent would understand this, if you are a teenage child you don't want things to change.

"You've got things set up at home exactly as you want them, you've got your friends, you've got your routines and you're got your first little bits of independence, what you do after school.

"It may not be a big thing but it's the first (time), you can do what you want with your friends after school for a limited amount of time, whatever it may be. All of that, I can see deep down they are worried this could change."

Met Police statement in full following further gambling allegations

14:32 , Jacob Phillips

The Met Police has confirmed that five further officers allegedly placed bets relating to the timing of the election.

A police spokesperson said: “We previously confirmed the arrest of a Met officer on Monday, 17 June for misconduct in public office in relation to bets placed on the timing of the General Election.

“The officer – a Police Constable from the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command – is on restricted duties.

“It is still the case that only one officer is under criminal investigation.

“We have, however, been passed information from the Gambling Commission alleging that five further officers have placed bets related to the timing of the election.

“The Gambling Commission continues to investigate these matters. The officers have not been arrested but the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed.

“The officers are based on the Royalty and Specialist Command, the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command and the Central West Basic Command Unit. None of them work in a close protection role.”

“Decisions on whether they will be subject to any restrictions will be taken in due course.”

'I intend to clear my name' says dropped Tory candidate

15:21 , Jacob Phillips

Craig Williams, who has been dropped by the Tories as a candidate over betting on the election timing, said he had “committed an error of judgment, not an offence” and “I intend to clear my name”.

Dropped Tory candidate Craig Williams says he is 'committed to campaign'

15:27 , Jacob Phillips

Craig Williams, who has been dropped by the Tories as a candidate over betting on the election timing has released a video statement.

He said: “I remain on the ballot paper on July 4 and I hope to secure your support after years of delivery.

“I committed an error of judgement, not an offence, and I want to reiterate my apology directly to you.

“I am fully cooperating with routine inquiries from the Gambling Commission and I intend to clear my name.”

He added that it had been “a privilege to be the member of parliament for the constituency where I was born, raised and now live with my young family”.

He continued that he was committed to his campaign to try and be re-elected as an MP.

Tory campaign going badly, admits minister

16:06 , Josh Salisbury

Tory minister Steve Baker has admitted the party's election campaign has gone "badly" and that its double-digit poll deficit is "extremely worrying".

The Northern Ireland minister also said he recognised "things have gone wrong" in the Conservative Party and that he is standing for re-election to try to "sort this mess out".

The Tory campaign has in recent days been overshadowed by the row over the alleged use of inside information to bet on the timing of the July 4 poll, dampening Rishi Sunak's hopes of putting a dent in Labour's 21-point average poll lead.

Mr Baker on Monday became the first serving minister to call for those who placed bets on the election date to be suspended by the party, with the Prime Minister later pulling support from candidates Craig Williams and Laura Saunders.

Labour candidate suspended over betting scandal

17:43 , Miriam Burrell

Labour has administratively suspended Central Suffolk and North Ipswich candidate Kevin Craig after the Gambling Commission launched an investigation.

It is understood not to relate to bets on election timing.

A party spokeswoman said after being contacted by the Gambling Commission the party acted immediately to administratively suspend him pending investigation.

A Labour Party spokeswoman said: “With Keir Starmer as leader, the Labour party upholds the highest standards for our parliamentary candidates, as the public rightly expects from any party hoping to serve, which is why we have acted immediately in this case.”

Suspended Labour candidate Kevin Craig 'bet against himself'

17:56 , Miriam Burrell

The Central Suffolk and North Ipswich candidate Kevin Craig has been suspended from Labour after the Gambling Commission launched an investigation.

Mr Craig’s bet was relating to the outcome of the vote in his constituency - and the candidate had bet that he would lose the contest, according to Sky News.

Kevin Craig 'deeply regrets' bet

18:23 , Miriam Burrell

Suspended Labour candidate Kevin Craig said he “deeply” regrets putting a bet on the Tories winning in the Suffolk constituency he is contesting and will “fully comply” with a Gambling Commission investigation.

Kevin Craig said he bet against himself as he thought he would 'never win seat' for Labour

19:01 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Kevin Craig has admitted making a “stupid error of judgment” by placing a wager on the Tories defeating him in the constituency of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, which the rival party won by a majority of 23,391 in 2019.

He claimed he had done so because he thought he would “never win this seat” and had been planning to give any winnings to local charities.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Craig said: “While I did not place this bet with any prior knowledge of the outcome, this was a huge mistake, for which I apologise unreservedly.”

He added: “I deeply regret what I have done and will take the consequences of this stupid error of judgment on the chin. I am deeply sorry to the many dedicated and loyal local Labour Party volunteers who have been supporting my campaign. I will comply fully with the investigation.”

Four men arrested on suspicion of trespassing at PM's constituency home

19:31 , Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass at the Prime Minister’s constituency home in Kirby Sigston, North Yorkshire Police said.

“Our officers were with the four men within one minute of them entering the grounds,” said a force spokesperson.

“They were detained at around 12.40pm before being escorted off the property and arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

“The men aged 52 from London, 43 from Bolton, 21 from Manchester, and 20 from Chichester, remain in police custody for questioning and inquiries are ongoing.”

Welsh Conservative investigated over election bet

19:46 , Miriam Burrell

Russell George, a Conservative member of the Senedd, has stepped back from the Welsh shadow cabinet as he faces an investigation by the gambling watchdog over alleged bets on the timing of the General Election.

Mr George represents Montgomeryshire in the Welsh parliament – the same area that Craig Williams, the Tory candidate who has had party support withdrawn as he faces similar allegations, represented at Westminster.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: “Russell George has informed me that he has received a letter from the Gambling Commission regarding bets on the timing of the General Election.

“Russell George has stepped back from the Welsh Conservative shadow cabinet while these investigations are ongoing.

“All other members of the Welsh Conservative Group have confirmed that they have not placed any bets.

“I will not issue further comment on this ongoing process, recognising the Gambling Commission’s instruction for confidentiality to protect the integrity of the process.”

Latest Tory under investigation to 'co-operate fully'

19:50 , Miriam Burrell

Russell George, the Welsh Conservative member of the Senedd facing an investigation over alleged betting on the date of the election, said he would “co-operate fully” with the inquiry.

In a statement, he said it was “the Gambling Commission, not the media” that has the responsibility and powers to properly probe the matter, and that he would not be commenting further.

Mr George said: “Whilst I will co-operate fully with the Gambling Commission, it would not be appropriate to comment on this independent and confidential process.

“Doing so would only jeopardise and undermine the investigation. It is the Gambling Commission, not the media, that has the responsibility, powers and resources to properly investigate these matters and determine what, if any, action should be taken.

“I have stepped back from the shadow cabinet while the investigation is ongoing. I have done this as I do not wish to be an unnecessary distraction to their work.

“As such, I will not be providing any further public comment on this until the Gambling Commission has concluded its work.”

Live coverage ends

20:36 , Miriam Burrell

That’s all for our live coverage tonight.

Please check back in tomorrow for the latest on the general election.

In the meantime here is a wrap of today’s events.