Minister calls for suspension of betting scandal as Tories tackle immigration

Northern Ireland Secretary Steve Baker said placing bets on the election date was “disreputable” and he would have suspended anyone who did so.

Speaking to ITV’s Peston on Monday night, Baker said: “I would call them and ask, ‘Have you done it?’ And if they have done it, they will be suspended.”

“But the Prime Minister would have to answer why he didn’t do it. I have no inside information as to why the Prime Minister didn’t do it.”

Mr Baker joins other Conservatives such as former defence secretary Tobias Ellwood in calling for the suspension of the four Tories accused of betting on the election date.

They are Craig Williams, a former parliamentary adviser to the Prime Minister, who has admitted to making a “major error of judgement” when he placed “a bet” on the election date, Nick Mason, the party’s chief data officer, Tony Lee, head of campaigns, and Laura Saunders, a candidate for Bristol North West and Lee’s wife.

But Mr Sunak insisted on Monday that it was “right” to await the results of investigations by the Gambling Commission, police and the Conservative Party itself as he struggled to put the scandal rocking his election campaign behind him.

On Tuesday, the Conservatives will turn to the issue of immigration and try to reduce Labour’s persistently large lead in the polls.

Home Secretary James Cleverly and his Labour colleague Yvette Cooper will face off in a debate on immigration on LBC on Tuesday morning.

Ahead of the debate, the two exchanged blows in the Daily Telegraph, with Cleverly claiming that Labour would make Britain the “asylum capital of the world” and offer “amnesty” to people crossing the Channel in small boats.

He referred to reports in the Telegraph that some would-be migrants were waiting in France for a Labour government before they could cross the border. The Prime Minister himself referred to this on Monday when he said people were “queuing in Calais waiting for a Starmer government”.

In her own Telegraph article, Ms Cooper pointed to the increasing number of people attempting the crossing this year and argued that Mr Sunak’s policies are “obviously not working”.

She said: “All ministers have offered are headline-grabbing gimmicks and empty promises. We cannot continue like this. We need a serious plan, not more rhetoric.”

Labour wants to focus on tackling knife crime. Sir Keir Starmer said that reducing such crimes would be a “moral mission” when he moves into 10 Downing Street.

The party has promised a five-step plan to tackle the problem, including guaranteed sentences for young people with knives, and Sir Keir has pledged to chair an annual summit to track progress towards his goal of halving knife crime within a decade.

Sir Ed Davey will launch the Liberal Democrats’ six-page mini-manifesto on care, highlighting commitments already made in the party’s main policy document.

The Liberal Democrats have already put care “at the heart” of their election campaign and the issue is close to Sir Ed’s heart, having cared for his mother as a teenager and, more recently, his disabled son.

Sir Ed said: “We are putting forward a bold and ambitious plan to ensure everyone gets the support they need – the people who need care, the amazing carers who provide it and the unpaid carers who provide it too.”