Police to investigate ‘misconduct in public office’ in betting scandal

The Reform UK leader is in Seaham in the North East, where he kickstarted his Brexit campaign.

He will be speaking live from Rainton at midday.

The word “surrender” seemed to be the favorite buzz word of the prime minister during last night’s debate.

Rishi Sunak used the insistently attacked Sir Keir Starmer using the word 17 times. Here are some of the top lines:

• Do not surrender your local councils and our finances to them.

• When pensioners are paying tax for the first time, that’s the change that is coming, so don’t surrender to that, because your families are going to pay the price.

• Do not surrender to – our welfare system to the Labour party and Keir Starmer.

• If Labour win, the people smugglers are going to need a bigger boat. Don’t surrender our borders to the Labour party.

• I don’t think that people should surrender their family finances to the Labour party.

• Keir Starmer and the Labour party are not being straight with you. So do not surrender to their tax rises.

Labour’s Karl Turner, who is running to be re-elected in Hull East, has revealed how a voter thought the party was planning to “tax condoms”.

Mr Turner told The Guardian: “We met a guy who said he was going to vote Labour but wouldn’t now because he had just heard that we were taxing condoms.

“I said, ‘condoms?’ ‘Yeah,’ he said: ‘I just heard on that [pointing to the TV] that you are taxing condoms, and I’m not having it. You’re not getting my vote.’ It was Terence [Turner’s parliamentary assistant] here who worked it out.

“‘We’re taxing non-doms, not condoms,’ I said. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Like the prime minister’s wife? Ah.’ He calls out: ‘Margaret: they’re taxing non-doms, not condoms.’”

The candidates involved in the betting scandal could be arrested if the Met Police takes in all the cases, Sky News reports.

A source from the Gambling Commission has reportedly said the Met is “trying to take over all cases in the gambling scandal”.

Cops are seeking to lead the investigations into their officials as well as Westminster candidates.

The Gambling Commission source claimed that if the Met takes over all cases, politicians could face arrests under caution and be interviews with members of the commission.

But a spokesperson from the independent watchdog has denied the claims.

Jonathan Reynolds has vowed to amend the UK’s relationship with the EU by “good faith and reason, not by internal politics of the Conservative party”.

Mr Reynolds promised the British Chambers of Commerce: “We will take the grown-up approach to Brexit that the Government has lacked.”

The shadow business secretary insisted Labour will not seek to join the single market or customs union.

Instead, he said the party would seek international agreements, adding: “If New Zealand can have a veterinary agreement with our closest neighbours, so can we.

“And the same can be said for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, for touring rights in the creative industries, and easier inter-company transfers.”

Jonathan Reynolds has been speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Global Annual Conference as part of the campaign trail.

The shadow business secretary has defended Labour’s cautious approach to the General Election.

He told a British Chambers of Commerce conference in London: “I’m told by some commentators, they don’t think Labour’s campaign is exciting enough.

“We’re not pitching you a new Netflix series. We’re not putting on politics as entertainment.

“We want to return to serious government, to effective policy and to politics as public service, not as pantomime.”

Last night’s BBC Prime Ministerial head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer was watched by around 2.7million people.

New figures have revealed the televised political event was outscored by the Georgia’s sensational Euro 2024 win against Portugal on ITV with 4.2millioin viewers.

A Reform UK candidate has said he would “slaughter” migrants arriving on small boats and “take them out” from their families.

Leslie Lilley, who is running in Southend East and Rochford, reportedly posted the threats on Facebook in 2020.

Commenting on the arrival of a small boat in Dover, he said: “I hope I’m near one of these scumbags one day. I won’t run away, I’ll slaughter them then have their family taken out.”

He posted again labelling people entering the UK “more scum”, adding: “‘I hope your family get robbed, beaten or attacked,” The Times reported.

The Met Police has announced it will investigate “a small number of cases” in connection to the betting scandal rocking Westminster.

A Met spokesperson said: “The Gambling Commission will continue to lead the investigation into cases where the alleged offending is limited to breaches of the Gambling Act only.

“Met detectives will lead on investigating a small number of cases to assess whether the alleged offending goes beyond Gambling Act offences to include others, such as misconduct in public office.”

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has seen her popularity rise and has become the second best rated politician in the polls.

The Labour member is also the most popular figure with 2019 Tories.