Minister admits bets on General Election date as leaders prepare for final TV debate

A video has emerged appearing to show a postie writing ‘racists’ on leaflets for Reform UK.

The Politics UK Twitter account posted the clip of a Royal Mail worker scribbling on the post, alongside a picture of two leaflets with the word written across them.

It included a quote from Royal Mail saying: ‘We take our role in elections very seriously and will investigate any incident or allegation of election material being defaced.

‘We are aware of the video and are conducting immediate enquiries. It’s our priority to ensure all candidate mail is delivered to a high level of service.’

A Reform candidate has come under fire for praising Vladimir Putin at a hustings in the town where two people were poisoned with Novichok.

Julian Malins KC was asked at the event in Salisbury, Wiltshire, if his party would continue support for Ukraine after leader Nigel Farage said Russia’s invasion of the country was ‘provoked’ by the West.

According to the Salisbury Journal, Malins replied: ‘War is not about as it were punishing or in some way running over thousands of young men in tanks and blowing them up because one person takes points of view which you disagree with.

‘I have actually met Putin and had a 10-minute chat with him and he seemed very good.’

In a reference to Hitler, he added: ‘He is not the Austrian gentleman with a moustache come alive again.’

Some members of the audience reportedly booed his comments, with one saying: ‘I can’t believe what I’ve just heard.

‘How can you in Salisbury, where we had Novichok on our streets, say that?’

Former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the nerve agent in March 2018. Both survived the attack, which was blamed on Russia by the British Government.

A man has been arrested over the ‘honeytrap’ scandal that gripped Westminster earlier this year.

MPs, journalists and party staff were sent salacious WhatsApp messages by people calling themselves Abi, Charlie or Charlotte.

In what appeared to be an attempt at a ‘spear phishing’ cyberattack, the victims were sent flirty compliments and explicit photographs.

Tory MP William Wragg later admitted to The Times that he had given the personal phone numbers of several colleagues to a man he met on dating app Grindr.

He later resigned the whip, and is not standing in the July 4 election.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘On Wednesday, 26 June, police executed a warrant at an address in Islington.

‘A man was arrested on suspicion of harassment and committing offences under the Online Safety Act. He was taken into custody where he remains.

‘The arrest relates to an investigation being carried out by the Met’s Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team following reports of unsolicited messages sent to MPs and others.

‘The investigation remains ongoing.’

The prime minister has waded into a row over a speech in which David Tennant suggested he looked forward to a time when ‘we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist anymore’.

Tennant criticised the women and equalities minister for her stance on LGBT issues – particularly trans issues – while receiving an award for his outspoken support for the community.

He said he was a ‘little depressed’ by the need for such an award, adding: ‘It is human decency. We shouldn’t live in a world where that is worth remarking on.

‘However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist any more – I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up – whilst we do live in this world, I am honoured to receive this.’

Badenoch reacted furiously last night, describing the Doctor Who star 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’.

And after Labour MP Dawn Butler wrote a tweet supporting Tennant last night – saying ‘not all Black women think the same’ – the Tory minister accused her of cheering on as ‘kids are medicalised and sterilised’.

She added: ‘The toxicity of the debate comes from the left.’

This morning, Rishi Sunak referenced the row by tweeting: ‘Freedom of speech is the most powerful feature of our democracy.

‘If you’re calling for women to shut up and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem.’

The Labour Party will return a £100,000 donation made by a candidate who bet against himself in the upcoming election.

Kevin Craig was standing to become the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, but has been suspended amid the scandal over political betting.

He has previously been involved in a ‘cash for candidacy’ row, as he was selected to be Labour’s candidate for the seat – reportedly unopposed – after handing the large donation to the party.

At the time of his selection, it was a comfortable Conservative safe seat with a 23,000 majority.

But Dan Poulter, who had represented the constituency since 2010, defected to Labour in April and polls suggest the race has tightened considerably since.

Craig will still appear on the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich ballot with Labour beside his name due to the lateness of the suspension.

Russell George, a Conservative member of the Senedd, has stepped back from the Welsh shadow cabinet as he faces an investigation by the gambling watchdog over alleged bets on the timing of the General Election.

Mr George represents Montgomeryshire in the Welsh parliament – the same area that Craig Williams, the Tory candidate who has had party support withdrawn as he faces similar allegations, represented at Westminster.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: ‘Russell George has informed me that he has received a letter from the Gambling Commission regarding bets on the timing of the General Election.

‘Russell George has stepped back from the Welsh Conservative shadow cabinet while these investigations are ongoing.

‘All other members of the Welsh Conservative Group have confirmed that they have not placed any bets.

‘I will not issue further comment on this ongoing process, recognising the Gambling Commission’s instruction for confidentiality to protect the integrity of the process.’

In a statement, Mr George said it was ‘the Gambling Commission, not the media’ that has the responsibility and powers to properly probe the matter, and that he would not be commenting further.

He added: ‘Whilst I will co-operate fully with the Gambling Commission, it would not be appropriate to comment on this independent and confidential process.

‘Doing so would only jeopardise and undermine the investigation. It is the Gambling Commission, not the media, that has the responsibility, powers and resources to properly investigate these matters and determine what, if any, action should be taken.

‘I have stepped back from the shadow cabinet while the investigation is ongoing. I have done this as I do not wish to be an unnecessary distraction to their work.

‘As such, I will not be providing any further public comment on this until the Gambling Commission has concluded its work.’

Keir Starmer

‘I’d offer to pay it,’ Starmer told the Big Issue. ‘The desperation of families around the country should make the Tories feel nothing but shame.’

Read more about his comments below:

Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch has said she ‘will not shut up’ after David Tennant suggested she should at the British LGBT Awards.

Ms Badenoch accused the ex-Doctor Who actor of being a ‘rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology’ in a tweet posted on Tuesday.

Her comments come after Tennant, who was awarded a ‘Celebrity Ally’ award at a ceremony on Friday, received cheers and applause when he said of the Conservative Cabinet minister: ‘I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up.’

Ms Badenoch hit back and said: ‘I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.

‘A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he 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. This is an early example of what life will be like if they win.

‘Keir Starmer stood by while Rosie Duffield was hounded. He and his supporters will do the same with the country.

‘Do not let the bigots and bullies win.’

Tennant is ‘one of the LGBTQ+ community’s most fierce allies and supporters’, according to the British LGBT Awards, and ‘often does red-carpet interviews while wearing pins associated with the community, with one particular Doctor Who-themed Tardis badge, designed in the colours of the trans Pride flag, helping to raise thousands of pounds for charities.’

He said in his acceptance speech: ‘If I’m honest I’m a little depressed by the fact that acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and live their life how they want to live it as long as they’re not hurting anyone else should merit any kind of special award or special mention because it’s common sense, isn’t it?

‘It is human decency. We shouldn’t live in a world where that is worth remarking on.

‘However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist any more – I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up – whilst we do live in this world, I am honoured to receive this.

‘I am thrilled to be here and to be a part of this night – Pride is very important in our house, it’s a family affair, we have skin in the game, so this event tonight thrills me.

‘It gives me hope, it gives me fire, it gives me energy and deep joy, and even if I feel I don’t really deserve this, I’m very pleased and very proud to be receiving it.’

A motorist has been badly injured after crashing his car into an entrance at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s private country residence, earlier today.

The mangled white vehicle appears to have smashed into the bollards outside the gates to the 16th Century estate with the police and fire service called to the scene.

Police have stressed that there was nothing to suggest the incident was politically or terrorist related. No other vehicle was involved.

The driver was technically arrested at the scene on suspicion of drink-driving and causing criminal damage.

The incident is the second time today the PM’s property has been vandalised, after a protester took a dump in his Yorkshire mansion’s garden earlier today

Jeremy Corbyn has hit back at Keir Starmer’s ‘utter nonsense’ suggestion that Labour’s 2019 manifesto was similar to the Tory 2024 document.

The former party leader, who is now standing as an Independent, said people should ‘be true to ourselves and what we did at the time’ when asked about his successor’s claim that he never thought Mr Corbyn would be prime minister.

Mr Corbyn told LBC: ‘He never told me that. He never discussed that with me. He endorsed the 2019 manifesto … indeed, we did campaign events together.

‘I just think we should reflect on our history and be true to ourselves and what we did at the time.’

He added: ‘Okay, his politics have moved on a great deal since then, but, you know, let’s just reflect on that.’

On Sir Keir’s suggestion the Tories have launched a Corbyn-style manifesto where ‘none of it is costed’, Mr Corbyn said: ‘Utter nonsense. He knows, you know, I know the whole thing was fully costed.’

The Labour party has suspended a parliamentary candidate in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich after the Gambling Commission revealed it was investigating him.

Kevin Craig is the first Labour figure to be investigated over accusations of betting on the date of the general election which has seen a number of Tories and at least five Met officers suspended.

A party spokeswoman said after being contacted by the Gambling Commission the party acted immediately to administratively suspend him pending investigation.

A Labour Party spokeswoman 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.’

Labour leader Keir Starmer previously taunted Rishi Sunak over being slow to suspend candidates accused of betting on the election date, asking the prime minister: ‘Why didn’t that happen a week ago?’.

Speaking to the Independant earlier today, Starmer insisted that any Labour candidates involved in allegedly trying to use insider information to make bets ‘would have been straight out of the door’ and their ‘feet wouldn’t have touched the ground.’

In a statement, Mr Craig said: ‘Throughout my life I have enjoyed the odd bet for fun whether on politics or horses. A few weeks ago when I thought I would never win this seat, I put a bet on the Tories to win here with the intention of giving any winnings to local charities.

‘While I did not place this bet with any prior knowledge of the outcome, this was a huge mistake, for which I apologise unreservedly.

‘I have so much respect for how Keir Starmer has changed the Labour Party and I have been fighting so hard to win this seat and change the country alongside him.

‘However, it is right that the party upholds the highest standards for its Parliamentary candidates – just as the public expects the highest standards from any party hoping to serve in government.

‘I deeply regret what I have done and will take the consequences of this stupid error of judgment on the chin. I am deeply sorry to the many dedicated and loyal local Labour Party volunteers who have been supporting my campaign. I will comply fully with the investigation.’

A protester has shown his dissatisfaction with Rishi Sunak by breaking into his house and taking a dump in his pond while wearing a vest which reads ‘Eat S*** Rishi’.

The activist, from a group calling themselves Youth Demand, have claimed the log is a ‘parting gift for the PM’ and have demanded both parties call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Read more about it below:

The Gambling Commission has information alleging that five more officers placed bets on the timing of the general election.

Of those, two are from the royalty and specialist protection unit, while the other two are from the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command.

It brings the total number facing allegations to six. Only one is under criminal investigation.

A Met spokesperson said: ‘We previously confirmed the arrest of a Met officer on Monday, June 17 for misconduct in public office in relation to bets placed on the timing of the General Election.

‘The officer – a police constable from the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command – is on restricted duties.

‘It is still the case that only one officer is under criminal investigation.

‘We have, however, been passed information from the Gambling Commission alleging that five further officers have placed bets related to the timing of the election.

‘The officers are based on the Royalty and Specialist Command, the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command and the Central West Basic Command Unit. None of them work in a close protection role.

‘Decisions on whether they will be subject to any restrictions will be taken in due course.’

Silence from the Reform Alex Wilson candidate as he looks on the floor, ‘I don’t know.’

‘Maybe that’s the greatest fib, that you don’t have one’, Deborah Arthurs, Metro’s Editor said. He agrees.

The Conservative talked about politics and the Labour Party.

‘I couldn’t hear over the scraping of the barrel there’, Labour’s Wes Streeting followed up.

His biggest fib? He recently said that if he had to eat just one meal for the rest of his life, it would be ‘a nice healthy bowl of vegetables’.

The truth? He’s been surviving the campaign on caffeine and Haribo and would only eat fish and chips if he could.

Cooper, from the Lib Dems, said it’s when she blames the council if she sometimes wakes up and gets on the train late.

Polanski urges the public to vote for the Green Party

Immigration gets its first mention with Reform’s Wilson saying ‘we need more of everything’, just not immigrants.

He said we’ll never be able to tackle the housing crisis if ‘we don’t get a grip of immigration’.

‘Can we just call out that dog whistle’, Cooper from the Liberal Democrats interjects, saying we don’t have enough housing because don’t building enough.

‘It’s ugly and it has no place in a discussion of housing’.

Simmonds mentions the Conservative’s often-controversial Levelling Up Project.

He said it’s reduced demand on London and the Southeast and tried to promote attractive jobs in other parts of the country where there is a surplus of much cheaper housing.

Labour’s Streeting said ‘we’re seeing affordable homes for local people’ dry up due to the number of second homes, holiday homes and short-term lets.

He wants to see more powers for local authorities, and 1.5million new homes built.

The Lib Dems’ Cooper, who was shaking her head during Simmonds answer, is worried about the ‘huge number’ of Airbnbs in the towns around London.

This is pricing young families out of the local area, contributing to the shortage of hospitality and health workers.

She wanted to give local authorities the power to crackdown on these short-term lets, but the Conservatives opposed it, she said.

In response, Simmonds cites Michael Heseltine in the 1980s.

Polanski, from the Greens, highlights the 1million people on social housing waiting lists, saying we need council homes, not just ‘affordable homes’ that are often still too expensive.

Streeting dismisses the Green representative’s ‘attacks’ on Labour saying ‘it’s easier when you’re a smaller party making promises you know you’ll never have to deliver’.

‘We’re getting off the question’, Munro said.

Back to it, Blackford highlights the SNP’s record of building 96,000 social housing units since they came to power, which he said drives growth.

In Scotland the railways have been nationalised by the SNP, which Blackford said makes train fares cheaper with no peak time price hike.

Conservative Simmonds blames covid – that ever present blight – but he also highlights Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s decision to freeze bus fares.

Are higher fares necessarily a bad thing? They don’t have to be, Simmonds said, if reduced travel to the inner city means people spend money on the high street.

Labour’s Streeting highlights that our railways are actually nationalised, except they’re owned by other countries’ state-owned companies, which are subsidised by UK tax payers.

He wants to see franchises brought back in house, leading to a jibe from Simmonds saying Labour will ‘give the unions what they want’.

Liberal Democrat Cooper has ‘been a commuter for 12 years, and boy it can be tough’.

She wants trains that are ‘comfortable, reliable and affordable’, which the Liberal Democrats will deliver with a fare freeze and simpler tickets.

The Green’s Polanski has told us he travels to multiple cities in a day sometimes, and the waterways are pumped full of sewage.

He said we need to incentive rail travel over more polluting forms, but he didn’t say how.

‘We’re not very good at delivering infrastructure in this country’, Wilson said. ‘We need to be much better.’

Universal Credit payments are reduced by an amount equal to the Carer’s Allowance payment, though UC might be boosted if you’re caring for someone who gets a disability-related benefit.

Cooper said the Liberal Democrats ‘will end the appalling scandal of unpaid carers being penalised with thousands of pounds of a penalty’.

She believes her party is the only one ‘talking seriously about social care’, pledging free social care for anyone who needs it and a higher minimum wage for care workers.

‘Care is absolutely a priority for the Green Party’, said Polanski, who believes it’s about choosing to be a compassionate country.

Our Mr Munro has had to remind him to answer the question, leading Polanski to pledge a £40 Universal Credit uplift.

Blackford from the SNP referenced his long career, saying that many of the issues he first encountered in the 1970s are still prevalent today – but avoided answering the question directly.

Reform’s candidate Wilson does ‘not know the answer to that’, instead talking about his own family, saying ‘it’s something I personally am very interested in’.

Simmonds admits the Conservatives have to look at if they’ve ‘got the balance right’ in terms of the amount deducted from benefits payments as people earn more.

For Labour’s Streeting, the key issues to address is the workforce crisis affecting much of health and social care.

He said ‘there is plenty of blame to go around’ for the current state of social care, including his own Labour Party, blaming ‘a shortage of good politics’.

Cooper highlighted the Liberal Democrats’ commitment to extending free prescriptions to people with a long-term mental health problem.

But ‘one of the main problems people face right now is people can’t even get an appointment to get a GP’, she said.

Polanski of the Greens wants to tax the billionaires so we can ‘make sure the National Health Service stays nationalised’.

Streeting says Labour will ‘rebuild the capacity’ of the NHS. ‘That’s the principled thing to do and the pragmatic thing to do.

Reform’s Wilson said he’s ‘in danger of agreeing with Wes – what matters is outcomes not processes’. What does that mean? A greater role for the ‘independent sector’, and boosting recruitment and retention with income tax incentives.

Blackford, SNP, said that ‘during a cost of living crisis, it’s even more important that people have access to the medicine they need when they need it’.

However, across the country ‘we’ve failed to deliver sustainable economic growth’ that makes it possible.

Tory Simmonds highlights the higher proportion of people on long-term NHS waiting lists in Wales, where Labour is in government, than the rest of the UK.

Although he praises Labour’s introduction of the private sector into the NHS, he chooses to warn about what’s ‘coming down the track’ in terms of tax hikes rather than highlighting the Conservative’s own policies.

Metro’s political reporter Craig Munro is kicking off the hustings with an icebreaker question.

‘What would you do to make sure you don’t end up in your own lettuce video?’

For the Green’s about electing more of them. But also Polanski said: ‘Make sure you stay refrigerated, make sure you keep cool on a day like this.’ Keep going and elect more Green candidates.’

Reform’s Alex Wilson said: ‘Being credible, being honest, standing by what you believe in and staying true to your values.’

Simmonds, a Tory, defends Truss’ ‘brave but badly timed plan to get the economy going’ and pledged to continue the ‘growth agenda’.

Labour’s Streeting believes ‘don’t crash the economy’, slamming the Conservative Party’s ‘bad judgement’, dubbing their current manifesto ‘lettuce on steroids’.

Cooper, a Liberal Democrat, said: ‘Hopefully no politician will have a lettuce moment, but if we want to have more lettuces in this country that are homegrown, we should invest in our farmers.’