Sir Keir Starmer has demanded an immediate crisis meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a political betting scandal rocks the Conservative Party campaign in the final stretch before the general election.
The Labour leader's call for an urgent summit comes amid allegations that multiple individuals connected to the Tory campaign placed bets on the timing of the election before it was officially announced by Mr Sunak.
The scandal has escalated dramatically with the Gambling Commission now investigating both Craig Williams, the Prime Minister's former parliamentary private secretary, and Laura Saunders, a Conservative candidate who works for the party's campaign headquarters.
Mounting Pressure on Sunak
Sir Keir declared that the Prime Minister must take decisive action, stating: "If it was one of my team, I'd make sure they were straight out of the door and they'd be gone."
The Labour leader's intervention increases pressure on Mr Sunak, who has so far resisted calls to suspend the candidates under investigation. The controversy has overshadowed the Conservative campaign's final messaging efforts as polling day approaches.
Investigation Widens
The scandal emerged when it was revealed that Mr Williams, the Tory candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, allegedly placed a £100 bet on a July election just three days before Mr Sunak made the announcement.
Ms Saunders, who is standing in Bristol North West and is married to the Tory director of campaigns, is also under investigation by the gambling watchdog. The Conservative Party has acknowledged being contacted by the Commission about "a small number of individuals" but has declined to comment further during the ongoing investigation.
With the election just days away, this developing scandal threatens to derail Conservative efforts and has prompted serious questions about integrity and ethics within the party's campaign operations.
