General election latest: Labour accused of putting ‘undue influence’ on Gambling Commission

The final stretch of the election campaign threatens to be overshadowed by the betting scandal that has engulfed the Conservatives.

After more revelations over the weekend, Rishi Sunak is visiting Edinburgh, while Sir Keir Starmer is in the East Midlands.

Later, Sunak and Starmer will go head to head as they face questions from Sun readers on YouTube.

Wes Streeting has told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme he is “disgusted” at the conditions junior doctors face in hospitals.

The shadow health secretary said that while Labour would not agree to the 35 per cent pay increase requested by the British Medical Association (BMA), resolving the dispute would be an immediate priority if it won the election.

“To be honest, I’ve been pretty disgusted by the way junior doctors have been treated in terms of their placements, their rotations, I hope we can improve the working conditions of junior doctors too.

The Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris

PA

A Conservative minister has accused Labour of putting “undue influence” on the Gambling Commission after the party’s Pat McFadden asked the body to identify who it was investigating.

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, told Times Radio McFadden’s letter was “pretty concerning”.

He said: “Labour trying to lean on yet another independent body like it lent on the speaker of the House of Commons to not have a vote on Gaza, and I think you’re beginning to see, and people are beginning to see, what a Labour government would actually be like in the United Kingdom.”

He added the body should “not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals because it goes about its business in an independent way and trying to lean on bodies like that, it does demonstrate how sometimes politicians and political parties can well overstep their mark”.

Labour’s request for more details has been refused until the investigation is concluded.

The possibility of insider betting came to light when Craig William’s £100 wager on the election date was reported to the Gambling Commission

MATTHEW HORWOOD/GETTY IMAGES

The Times has learnt that the gambling watchdog’s investigation into the Conservative Party betting ring has been widened to look into hundreds of suspicious bets.

A dossier containing details of all bets that stood to win more than £199 has been passed to the Gambling Commission by betting companies.

Investigators are sifting through a spreadsheet of hundreds of names to identify gamblers who were employed by the Conservative party — or had ties to someone who was.

It marks an escalation in the scandal, which has overshadowed the Tory election campaign and attracted unfavourable comparisons with the Downing Street parties.