Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure to intervene in the Tory election betting scandal, with leading figures calling on him to take action.
The Prime Minister has been urged to immediately suspend anyone under investigation and launch a cabinet inquiry into the scandal.
Party chairman Richard Holden, who is responsible for overseeing the Conservative election campaign, has remained tight-lipped about the crisis.
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A former Tory minister and the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats are among those who have joined growing calls for the people involved to be suspended.
Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, wrote to the Gambling Commission asking the watchdog to release the names of all those investigated.
As the deepening crisis threatened to derail the Tory election campaign for another week:
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Sources close to Oliver Dowden confirmed the deputy prime minister had not bet on the election, increasing pressure on other senior figures to rule themselves out.
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James Cleverly did not deny a minister was involved, saying only “as far as I know”
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Michael Gove compared the situation to Partygate, with voters seeing it as “one rule for them and another for us”
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Labour’s Bridget Phillipson said there was “genuine disgust” among voters at the allegations
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The number of Tories investigated by the watchdog rose to four: two candidates and two officials
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Anger has grown as the police protection officer also accused has been suspended while Tory figures remain in their posts
Amid the growing fallout, former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland told LBC he was appalled by the scandal. “Whatever the motivation of these people… is this really what we expect? I don’t think so,” he said.
When asked whether he thought the Prime Minister should suspend those involved, he replied: “I do that too.”
And former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng told GB News: “It is childish and incredibly stupid. How did they think they wouldn’t get caught?” He pointed the finger at Mr Sunak and said he is in charge and therefore “ultimately responsible”.
He continued, “Sometimes it may be unfair, maybe he didn’t know what was going on, but as a leader of an organization, your character, your job is to impose some kind of discipline on the institution, and if things are going right, wrong – I know it’s an outdated view and people don’t really subscribe to it anymore, but ultimately I think the leader bears the responsibility for what’s going on.
After a day of silence from the Prime Minister, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said The independent: “Rishi Sunak must intervene personally to order a Cabinet inquiry and suspend anyone under investigation by the Gambling Commission.
“People are tired of this sleazy. Day by day, hour by hour, the Conservative government is getting bogged down in more and more things.”
In his scathing letter to the Gambling Commission, Mr McFadden said: “With ballot papers already being sent by post, many millions of people will be casting their votes this week. They deserve to have all relevant facts about this scandal at their disposal.
“I believe it is in the public interest that the Gaming Commission makes public the names of other figures you are investigating in relation to this matter. There will be particular interest in whether ministers were betting on the date of the election before it was called.”
The independent has revealed that an unnamed minister is believed to be among several figures under investigation, with numerous senior Tories ruling themselves out, including Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, James Cleverly, Mark Harper and Mr Gove.
Last weekend, Conservative Party chief data officer Nick Mason became the latest figure to be investigated by the Gambling Commission.
He is the fourth person close to the party leadership to be investigated by the gambling watchdog for allegedly betting on the timing of the election before the date was announced.
The latest allegations were published by The Sunday timeswhich claimed Mr Mason had placed dozens of bets with potential winnings worth thousands of pounds.
Mr Gove said: “The perception that we are operating outside the rules we set for others – that was damaging at the time of Partygate and is damaging here.
“If you are in a privileged position, [close] to the Prime Minister, who is at the center of a political operation, and you use inside information to make extra money for yourself, that is simply not acceptable. So if these allegations are true, it is very difficult to defend.”
Home Secretary Mr Cleverly said he would not defend Tories who had placed bets but that it was a matter for the Gambling Commission to investigate.
He said: “My understanding is that it involves a small number of individuals,” adding: “There is an investigation by the Gambling Commission and we have been told very, very clearly that we are not allowed to discuss the investigations.”
Several reports suggested the committee was investigating “many more” individuals and had expanded its investigation to include possible betting by family and friends of those associated with the party.
An industry source said this The independent that the Gaming Commission has asked for details of all bets made in the July elections after May 1, and that it is now “searching the data and picking people out”.
The revelations are a further blow to Rishi Sunak’s hopes of getting the Tory election campaign on track after three other Conservative figures were implicated in the scandal.
Craig Williams, Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary from Montgomeryshire, was the first Tory candidate to be publicly linked to the gambling scandal.
Laura Saunders, who has worked for the Tories since 2015 and represents Bristol North West, and her husband Tony Lee, campaign director, are both under investigation.
Ms Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, described “genuine disgust” among voters at the general election betting.
She told the BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “People across the country will be placing bets, but I think there’s a real revulsion among so many voters that what we’re seeing here is some pretty shocking behavior.
“Rishi Sunak promised us his government would be different; he has not acted against the candidates involved, he should suspend them, and – as Michael Gove has said – this only reminds people of the worst Conservative excesses of the last fourteen years.”