Election news – live: More Met officers investigated in betting scandal

Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker has urged Rishi Sunak to suspend Tories investigated in the betting scandal.

He told ITV last night putting a bet on when the general election would take place was “disreputable”.

The senior minister said: “I would call them up and ask them, ‘Did you do it?’ And if they did it, then they are suspended.

“But the prime minister would have to answer why he hasn’t done it, I haven’t got inside information on why the prime minister hasn’t done it.”

Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson has dodged questions on whether candidates probed over betting on the general election will be suspended.

Mr Tomlinson told Sky News Breakfast there is a “process” and the Gambling Commission is independent.

He added that there is an internal party process underway as well and it should happen “swiftly”.

The Cabinet minister claimed anyone found to have broken the rules or laws will be dealt with “severely”.

But he did not explain why the prime minister cannot take the first step and suspend the people under investigation.

The former Olympic rower has told ITV he wants to be able to look “voters in the eyes” after he claimed the party is “shower of s**t” amid the betting scandal.

Mr Cracknell urged investigated candidates to “come forward” and “admit they made a mistake”.

The Gambling Commission is reportedly looking into “many names” linked to the Conservative Party and the Cabinet who places a bet on the 4 July date.

Britain’s top trade union leader has warned Sir Keir Starmer that he will have to tackle a “dangerously underfunded” fire service as one of his first priorities on becoming prime minister, our Political Editor David Maddox reports.

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), has told the Labour leader that fire and rescue services are in a state of emergency.

It comes as Starmer entering Downing Street as prime minister on 5 July is now seen as almost inevitable with Labour more than 20 points ahead in most opinion polls.

Speaking to The Independent, Mr Wrack warned that the UK is “dangerously underprepared” for responding to fires, floods and extreme weather events, and has called on Keir Starmer to rapidly invest in the fire and rescue service when he enters Number 10.

Minister for countering illegal migration Michael Tomlinson has admitted the Tories have failed to “stop the boats”.

Asked whether Mr Sunak and the Tories had not stopped the boats, Michael Tomlinson told Times Radio: “That is right. We have not.

“We have made progress. Let me put this in context. Year on year, so rolling year to date or to last week we are still down by a third, so we are making progress.

“And the second thing I’d say is our Rwanda scheme. It is important to have a deterrent in place, as yet that deterrent is not fully in place. But we are already seeing the effects of that deterrent.”

• James Cleverly and Yvette Cooper will clash over immigration in a LBC debate this morning.

• Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor, will meet Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, as they visit a major business in Dunbartonshire.

• Rishi Sunak continues his attempts to revive the Tory campaign as he tells voters the party has “10 days to save Britain” from Labour rule.

• Mr Sunak will be joined at the Horse Guards Parade this morning by Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron and Home Secretary James Cleverly.

• Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to make reducing knife crime a “moral mission” ahead of a visit in central London, where he will meet with families of victims.

• Liberal Democrat Layla Moran will visit Oxfordshire to launch the party’s six-page mini-manifesto on care, highlighting pledges already made in the party’s main manifesto.

The Gambling Commission is investigating a “handful” of Met Police officers as the betting scandal continues to dominate the general election campaign.

One officer has already been arrested and questioned in connection with bets allegedly placed before the election date was announced.

More officers are being looked at by the commission, sources told the BBC.

The Met has not said how many are involved, but has denied reports in the Telegraph that it is the source of leaks which have seen four Conservatives named in connection with the scandal.

A leading think tank has accused Nigel Farage’s Reform of poisoning the debate around painful economic choices, as it warned it would be a “considerable surprise” if there are no further tax rises in the next five years.

Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, slammed the Tory and Labour manifestos, saying they leave voters “guessing”.

But he also hit out at Reform and the Greens for “unattainable” tax claims he said had made offerings from other parties look “feeble”.

The prime minister’s reluctance to mete out consistent punishments to those alleged to have bet on the election date has left his fellow Conservatives in a muddle, writes Sean O’Grady