Election – latest updates: Investigators probe all bets over £20 at bookmakers as Conservative gambling scandal worsens

A new poll suggests Rishi Sunak could hold on to his seat despite a disastrous general election defeat and the risk of losing his constituency.

Daisy Cooper MP echoed comments by parliamentary aide James Sutherland that the Rwanda plan was “bullshit”, describing it as “gimmicky”, “unworkable” and “immoral”.

talk PA News Agency Speaking at a Liberal Democrat campaign event in Harpenden, the party’s deputy leader said: “The Liberal Democrats have always maintained that the Rwanda programme was a sham and a huge cost to the taxpayer.”

“That’s just completely unworkable. And I think it’s immoral.”

“It’s incredible that the Conservative government has already spent £290 million on this scheme – that amount alone could have covered the costs of nearly seven million GP consultations.”

“So the Liberal Democrats will reinstate safe and legal routes for genuine asylum seekers to apply to come to this country in a safe way.”

“We will scrap the Rwanda system and reinvest the funds back into the Ministry of Home Affairs to address backlogs and reduce claims.”

James Sunderland, the Conservative candidate for Bracknell and private secretary to the Home Secretary, said he has been immersed in the policy for two years and has repeatedly called it “shit”.

When Eduard Habsburg-Lorraine was a student, his history teacher, explaining an episode from the annals of Europe, would point out that “the Habsburgs would surely have known about that.”

He is referring to many events relating to the 850-year history of the Habsburg Empire, which exerted influence over much of Europe until the end of the First World War.

Tom Wilson is the 29-year-old Labour candidate running against Rishi Sunak in Richmond and Northallerton. Polls last week suggested Sunak could be a first-time electoral “kingkiller” – the first person to defeat a sitting Prime Minister in a general election.

Reform UK has overtaken the Conservative Party to become the second most popular party among GB News viewers as the party they would most like to see form the next government.

A new poll from JL Partners shows Labour remains the most popular party among viewers, holding a 13-point lead.

The poll put Labour on 38% support, down eight points from the previous poll in late May.

Reformists rose seven points to 25 percent, one point above the Conservatives’ 24 percent.

The Liberal Democrats rose two points to 8%, while the Greens rose one point to 3%.

The gambling scandal shows a “lack of leadership” at the top of the Conservative party and “confirms” that Rishi Sunak has failed to uphold “standards in public life”, a former MP has said.

Anne Milton, a former MP and former Conservative leader, told Times Radio: “This confirms the view that the Conservative party is not upholding the norms in public life. The party is not behaving well.”

“There seems to be a lack of leadership from the top. As you say, it’s unfortunate that we have to remind people, but it seems like we need to be careful how we behave.”

Asked whether the staff should be suspended while the investigation continues, she said: “Suspension is the right course of action while the investigation is ongoing.”

“If the allegations turn out to be untrue, that’s tough, but it can happen in other areas of work too.”

The Gambling Commission is also investigating “a number” of other individuals who bet on the July election, according to the report.

After it emerged Craig Williams was the first Conservative member to be investigated, the Chancellor wrote to all gambling companies requesting details of individuals who had bet more than £20, just days before Rishi Sunak called a general election on 4 July.

“It’s a proven and credible investigative process,” a source told ITV’s Robert Peston. “It would be fairly easy to track down anyone who may have had access to sensitive information about election timing and identify their associates.”

Using confidential information to gain an unfair advantage when betting may be a criminal offence.

Gamblers are not permitted to use inside information to place bets or instruct others to place bets on their behalf.