Election latest: Labour embroiled in gambling scandal - as dropped Tory candidate vows to 'clear my name' (2024)

Labour will return the £100,000 Kevin Craig has donated to the party under Keir Starmer's leadership, Sky News understands.

It comes after he was suspended as the party's candidate for the constituency of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, having been placed under investigation by the Gambling Commission.

Sky News understands Mr Craig placed a bet that he would lose the contest next Thursday (see 17.07 post).

The other candidates in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich are:

• Charlie Caiger, independent;
• Tony Gould, Reform UK;
• Mike Hallatt, independent;
• Brett Alistair Mickelburgh, Lib Dems;
• Dan Pratt, Greens;
• Patrick Spencer, Conservatives.

Labour has suspended a parliamentary candidate after being told the Gambling Commission has launched an investigation into them, a party spokeswoman has said.

Kevin Craig, the candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, has been suspended from the party pending an investigation.

It comes in the midst of a scandal over informed betting on the date of the election, with the Conservatives today withdrawing support for two candidates.

However, Sky News understands Mr Craig put a bet on the outcome of his seat - that he would lose - rather than the date of the election.

He is also understood to be the CEO of communications agency PLMR, which runs the Responsible Gambling Week initiative.

The seat had previously been held by Tory defector Dan Poulter.

A Labour spokesperson 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."

The other candidates in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich are:

• Charlie Caiger, independent;
• Tony Gould, Reform UK;
• Mike Hallatt, independent;
• Brett Alistair Mickelburgh, Lib Dems;
• Dan Pratt, Greens;
• Patrick Spencer, Conservatives.

It's 5pm - here's your teatime general election bulletin.

Today has had a heavy focus on the Conservative betting scandal - but there's been plenty more for us to sink our teeth into.

• The Conservatives have announced they will no longer be supporting the two candidates being investigated over placing bets on the election date;
• Laura Saunders and Craig Williams will still appear in on their respective ballots - but won't be supported by the party;
• Mr Williams has since shared a video statement, claiming he "committed an error of judgement, not an offence" and insisting: "I intend to clear my name";
• Meanwhile, a war of words has erupted between women's minister Kemi Badenoch and Doctor Who actor David Tennant. The actor had said he wished Ms Badenoch would "shut up" while accepting an accolade at the British LGBT Awards;
• In response, the minister said: "I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls."

• Labour, meanwhile, has announced plans to tackle knife crime;
• Sir Keir appeared at an event with actor Idris Elba as they discussed introducing a long-term strategy to tackle the issue;
• Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has taken part in an hour-long debate with Conservative Home Secretary James Cleverly, taking in both legal and illegal migration;
• The minister said he does not "envisage" a Tory government leaving the European Court of Human Rights, despite the PM's threats to do so;
• And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has opened up about looking after his disabled son in an interview with Beth Rigby.

Don't forget, Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge is back tonight at 7pm.

And if you're heading home from work, you might also be interested intoday's Electoral Dysfunction, all about that photo of Sir Keir and his wife enjoying a Taylor Swift concert at Wembley.

Wales is a Labour heartland, but it's clearly in the sights of other parties during this election campaign.

Reform UK even launched its manifesto in a town in the south of the country, Merthyr Tydfil.

Although Wales has its own parliament and makes most of its own decisions, they still elect MPs who stand in Westminster.

Sky's Wales reporter Tomos Evans explains how the cost of living, steel industry and nuclear energy will be key issues for voters.

Our live poll tracker collates the results of opinion surveys carried out by all the main polling organisations - and allows you to see how the political parties are performing in the run-up to the general election.

It shows a drop in support in recent days for Labour and the Tories - with a jump for Reform and the Liberal Democrats.

Read more about the tracker here.

Last night, actor David Tennant urged Kemi Badenoch - the minister for women and equalities - to "shut up" as he accepted the celebrity ally accolade at the British LGBT Awards.

Accepting the trophy, the Doctor Who star said "we shouldn't live in a world" where "acknowledging everyone has the right to be who they want to be" should merit an award.

But "until we wake up, and Kemi Badenoch doesn't exist any more", he said he was happy to receive it.

"I don't wish ill of her - I just wish she would shut up," he said of Ms Badenoch.

He went on to say Pride is a "family affair" for him, adding: "We have skin in the game."

But Ms Badenoch has now responded to his comments, saying: "I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls."

Posting on X, she described him as a "rich, lefty, white male celebrity who can't see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end".

"Tennant is one of Labour's celebrity supporters," she added. "This is an early example of what life will be like if they win."

By Alix Culbertson, political reporter

The Conservatives have withdrawn support for two candidates who are being investigated over placing election bets.

There are strict rules around gambling.

Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 deals with cheating and says a person commits an offence if they cheat at gambling or do "anything for the purpose of enabling or assisting another person to cheat at gambling".

It adds: "It is immaterial whether a person who cheats improves his changes of winning anything, or wins anything."

Cheating is defined as an "actual or attempted deception or interference in connection with the process by which gambling is conducted, or a real or virtual game, race or other event or process to which gambling relates".

Someone found guilty of cheating at gambling can be imprisoned for a maximum of two years and/or fined, or six months in prison for a lesser offence.

Betting with insider knowledge is also not allowed as an MP, with the MPs' code of conduct prohibiting members from "causing significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the house".

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 judgement, not an offence".

He insisted: "I intend to clear my name".

In a video statement shared on X, the candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr said he "remains on the ballot paper" for the election on 4 July.

After being dropped by the Conservative Party, Mr Williams will likely stand as an independent candidate in the constituency.

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

"I am co-operating with the routine inquiries for the Gambling Commission and I intend to clear my name."

Mr Williams is one of two Conservative candidates the party has withdrawn support for in the wake of the scandal, the other being Bristol North West hopeful Laura Saunders.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "As a result of ongoing internal enquiries, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as parliamentary candidates at the forthcoming general election.

"We have checked with the Gambling Commission that this decision does not compromise the investigation that they are conducting, which is rightly independent and ongoing."

The other candidates in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr are:

• Jeremy Brignell-Thorp, Green Party
• Oliver Lewis, Reform UK
• Glyn Preston, Lib Dems
• Elwyn Vaughan, Plaid Cymru
• Steve Witherden, Labour

And those standing in Bristol North West are:

• Caroline Gooch, Lib Dems
• Darren Jones, Labour
• Scarlett O'Connor, Reform UK
• Mary Page, Green Party
• Ben Smith, SDP

A new voter intention poll, carried out by JL Partners, suggests Reform might be falling back in support.

The pollsters asked 2,005 adults in Britain for their opinion between Friday last week and yesterday.

It was on Friday that Reform leader Nigel Farage said the West had "provoked" Vladimir Putin into invading Ukraine - a move that was condemned widely across much of the UK political spectrum.

The results show Reform support down three percentage points compared to the week before, sitting at 15%.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, are up two points and Labour are up one.

JL Partners never showed Reform as having more support than the Tories, as some pollsters have done.

By Tom Cheshire, online campaign correspondent

There are two ways to reach voters online: pay for your adverts to end up in front of them - or produce content yourself that gets attention.

Throughout the election, we've been tracking the first of those. Labour have been the big digital spenders, with the Conservatives second, and then everyone else a very distant third.

But throwing money at it doesn't necessarily fix the attention problem.

And some of those spending the least are getting the most interactions, with the Reform UK party doing by far the best.

Reform is also seeing the most page growth, with 32,000 new followers.

The Conservative Party by comparison has seen much slower growth, just 0.08%.

That's only 596 more people clicking follow over the course of the election, speaking to a spluttering campaign.