By Greg Heffer, Political Correspondent For Mailonline
21:11 26 Jun 2024, updated 21:26 26 Jun 2024
Sir Keir Starmer tonight claimed Rishi Sunak was ‘bullied’ into acting over the election gambling scandal – as it emerged a Tory candidate put an £8,000 bet on himself to lose.
The Labour leader attacked the Prime Minister over the growing row about alleged bets by politicians on both the date and result of next week’s general election.
Mr Sunak this week withdrew the Conservatives‘ support for two candidates after they were revealed to be under investigation by the Gambling Commission.
But Sir Keir tackled the PM over why he had ‘delayed’ suspending Craig Williams and Laura Saunders until a number of days after the watchdog’s probe was first revealed.
In a separate development, Sir Philip Davies – another Tory candidate – was reported to have placed a large wager on him being defeated in his Shipley constituency.
During this evening’s final TV election debate on the BBC, Sir Keir accused Mr Sunak of being ‘bullied’ into responding to the betting scandal.
The Labour leader said: ‘You have to lead from the front on issues like this.
‘I think that in the last 14 years politics has become too much about self entitlement, and MPs thinking about what they could get for themselves.’
He added: ‘The instinct of these people to think the first thing they should do is try to make money, that was the wrong instinct, and we have to change that.’
Sir Keir compared the PM’s response to the ‘swift’ action he took to suspend Kevin Craig, one of Labour’s own candidates.
He said: ‘What I did, when one of my team was alleged to have been involved and investigated by the Gambling Commission, they were suspended within minutes.
‘Because I knew it made it really important to be swift, the PM delayed and delayed and delayed until eventually he was bullied into taking off.’
In response, Mr Sunak said: ‘It was important to me, that given the seriousness and the sensitivity of the matters at hand that they were dealt with properly, and that’s what I’ve done.’
The debate clashes between Sir Keir and Mr Sunak came after The Sun reported Sir Philip bet £8,000 that he will not hold his Shipley constituency, where he is defending a 6,242-vote majority.
The newspaper said there is no suggestion the leading Tory, married to cabinet minister Esther McVey, had broken the law.
But he did not dispute the sum involved when quizzed about the accusation.
Sir Philip said: ‘What’s it go to do with you whether I did or didn’t’ place the bet.
‘I hope to win. I’m busting a gut to win. I expect to lose. In the 2005 election, I busted a gut to win. I expected to lose.
‘I had a bet on myself to lose in the 2005 election, and my bet went down the pan.
He added: ‘My comment will be, whether I have or haven’t, it’s nobody’s business apart from mine.
‘And if anyone’s alleging I’ve done anything illegal, they’re very welcome to allege it, but I’m afraid I haven’t.’
The newspaper also reported that the Metropolitan Police are set to take over the probe from the Gambling Commissioin amid its widening scale and complexity.
At least five Conservatives are being investigated by the regulator as part of its inquiry into wagers on the timing of the July 4 poll.
Mr Sunak on Tuesday caved to mounting calls to withdraw support for two parliamentary candidates facing an investigation by the regulator – his parliamentary aide Mr Williams and Ms Saunders.
Ms Saunders’ husband, the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning Tony Lee, has taken a leave of absence, as has Tory chief data officer Nick Mason, while Welsh Tory Senedd member Russell George is also facing a probe by the gambling watchdog.
Labour has also been dragged into the row, suspending Mr Craig after he was investigated by the regulator for betting on himself to lose his contest in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.