Election latest: Ex-Newcastle United owner and Tory donor backs Reform (2024)

Rishi Sunak has refused to say whether he told one of his closest parliamentary aides the date of the general election before he placed a bet on it.

Just to remind you, Craig Williams, who has now been suspended as the Conservativeelection candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, admitted he "committed a serious error of judgment" but "not an offence" and declared he would continue to fight to win his seat.

Speaking to broadcasters, the PM insisted he was "furious" when he first learned about the allegations of betting on the election date, and added: "I've been consistently clear that if anyone is breaking the rules, they should face the full consequences of the law, whether that's the Gambling Commission or the police."

Pushed repeatedly on whether he told Mr Williams - his parliamentary private secretary - the date of the election in advance, Mr Sunak refused to say.

"It's absolutely not right when there are ongoing independent investigations, that those aren't compromised in any way, shape or form, they are rightly confidential."

On behalf of all broadcasters, Sky's Sam Coates pointed out to Mr Sunak that he cannot prejudice an investigation, only a jury.

But Mr Sunak still refused to say if he told Mr Williams the date of the election before it became public.

"Whilst there are ongoing independent investigations, including, as you said, by the police, it's important that those matters are allowed to proceed properly."

The other candidates for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr are:

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

A donor who has given more than £500,000 to the Conservative Party since 2007 has defected to Reform UK.

Sir John Hall, the former Newcastle United owner, is at Nigel Farage's rally in County Durham that is under way now.

He was integral to funding the Conservative 2017 snap election campaign, called by then PM Theresa May.

Speaking at the rally, Mr Farage said he is "delighted" that Sir John has joined them and given a donation to the party.

The businessman did not join Mr Farage on stage, but waved from the back of the hall as the crowd stood up and cheered.

As the election campaign enters the final week, Rishi Sunak has acknowledged that voters have left the Conservative Party in recent years - but appealed for public support.

Speaking during a visit to a pottery factory in Derbyshire, the prime minister said: "I understand why many of you might be hesitant about supporting us again at this election.

"I'm not blind to the frustrations that you feel about me, about our party."

He blamed many of the struggles on COVID and the war in Ukraine, but did concede the Tories "haven't got everything right", saying: "We've made mistakes, and we haven't made as much progress in all areas as we would have liked."

But he went on: "This is not a by-election. This is a choice about the future of our country and a choice that is going to have profound consequences for you, your family finances and the direction of our nation.

"Before you make that choice, you should just think very hard about what a Labour government would actually mean for you."

The PM said "you can't be sure" because Sir Keir Starmer "changes his mind on almost every major position he has taken".

As the general election campaign enters its final week, the party leaders are out on the campaign trail making their pitches to voters.

Rishi Sunak has just given a stump speech at a pottery factory in Derbyshire as he tries to claw back a few of the voters who have abandoned his party, and is now holding a Q&A.

Watch in the stream below:

Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is giving a speech in County Durham as he continues his attempt to destroy the Conservative Party and win seats in parliament.

You can watch that one here:

The Metropolitan Police has just given an update on the investigation into bets around the general election.

Seven police officers have so far been identified as having placed bets on the timing of the election, the force said.

One of Rishi Sunak's close protection officers was arrested 10 days agoon suspicion of misconduct in public office. The officer has been bailed and is subject to restricted duties.

A further six officers have been identified as having placed bets on the timing of the election, and are under investigation by the Gambling Commission.

The Met also clarified exactly how the investigation will work.

Bets that are suspected to fall under the cheating section of the Gambling Act will be investigated by the Gambling Commission, and are "likely to make up the majority of cases".

The gambling watchdog is empowered to bring criminal prosecutions where crimes are suspected to have been committed.

Bets that are suspect to be in breach of the Gambling Act, but with "special features" that could mean other offences could apply, such as misconduct in public office, will be "assessed by the Met's Specialist Crime Command to determine what further investigation is required".

"The number of these cases is likely to be much smaller than those in the first category," the force said.

In a statement, Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said they are "focused on an investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the general election".

He added they cannot provide the names of anyone potentially under suspicion "to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome".

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Jeremy Hunt has donated a further £32,000 of his own money to his constituency party as he tries to avoid becoming the first sitting chancellor in modern British history to lose his seat.

Figures from the Electoral Commission show in the first quarter of this year, Mr Hunt made three donations to the Godalming and Ash Conservatives.

The chancellor gave £7,794 across two separate donations on 2 January, then another £24,451.30 on 8 February.

The 8 February donation is the largest single donation he has made to the local association, which has received £166,457 from him in total since 2014.

The vast majority of that has been cash donations, official records show, though £8,918 of it was non-cash.

Under electoral rules, MPs and candidates can donate to their local constituency accounting unit if they wish.

The Lib Dems said Mr Hunt is "throwing the kitchen sink at keeping his seat", amid warnings he could be ousted come polling day on 4 July.

The Surrey constituency has been a key target seat for Sir Ed Davey's party as they aim to demolish the Conservative "Blue Wall" in southern England.

Read more here:

The Met Police are trying to take over all live cases relating to the election date betting probe, but they are only being given a small number at this stage, a Gambling Commission source has told Sky News.

It is understood commission officials have stressed the importance of the investigation being independent, but that the police want to lead on investigations into their own officers as well as parliamentary candidates and officials.

The Gambling Commission source told Sky News if the Met Police take over all cases, the politicians identified will be arrested under caution and may be interviewed with commission officials present.

However, a Gambling Commission spokesperson said that this is not true.

Earlier, the Met Police announced it would take the lead on investigating "a small number of cases" related to the Westminster betting scandal (see post at 6.48am).

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.

With just a week to go, the Tories and Labour have taken a drop, while support for Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats is on the rise.

Read more about the trackerhere.