Met police end probe into election gambling scandal with no charges made
The Metropolitan police has ended its involvement in the criminal investigation into the placing of bets on the date of the general election.
The force previously said it was probing whether a “small number” of bets on the 4 July poll had involved more serious offences including misconduct in public office.
A number of Conservatives have been caught up in the Gambling Commission inquiry, including Rishi Sunak’s former parliamentary aide, Craig Williams.
But the Met said after a review of evidence with the CPS that “it was determined that the high bar for misconduct in public office to be proven was not met”.
The investigation by the Gambling Commission into whether offences were committed under the Gambling Act continues.
In a statement, Det Supt Katherine Goodwin said:
These allegations caused a significant dent in public confidence during the election campaign and it was right that they were investigated to explore all possible offences.
While our involvement in the criminal investigation now ceases, it’s important that is not misinterpreted as an all clear for those whose cases were looked at. There are still Gambling Act offences to consider and it is appropriate that they are taken forward by investigators from the Gambling Commission who have particular expertise in this field.
Seven police officers who are alleged to have placed bets are still among those being investigated by the Gambling Commission. They also remain under investigation by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
Key events
Closing summary
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Magistrates have been ordered to delay jailing criminals in a bid to ease prison overcrowding. Court of appeal judge Lord Justice Green issued a listing direction to magistrates’ courts managers in England and Wales, saying offenders likely to be jailed should have their sentencing hearings postponed until the government’s plans to free thousands of offenders early from prison come into force next month. The body representing magistrates described the move as “another sticking plaster to hold our crumbling justice system together”, while solicitors repeated calls for an “urgent injection of funding” to get a grip on the crisis.
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Scotland’s finance secretary, Shona Robison, said she is working on cutting back Scottish government spending amid a “very challenging environment” for public finances, pledging to update MSPs on her choices in early September. Robison said more cost-cutting measures are needed following the Treasury’s review of public finances and uncertainty over how pay review body recommendations will be funded.
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The Metropolitan police has ended its involvement in the criminal investigation into the placing of bets on the date of the general election. The investigation by the Gambling Commission into whether offences were committed under the Gambling Act continues.
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China’s president Xi Jinping discussed cooperation in finance, the green economy and artificial intelligence during his first official phone call with Keir Starmer on Friday. The call was reportedly made at Starmer’s request and is the first between Xi and a British prime minister since March 2022.
Thank you for reading and all your comments today. This blog is closing now but you can read all of our politics coverage here.
More spending cuts needed amid ‘very challenging environment’, Scottish finance secretary says
Scotland’s finance secretary Shona Robison says she is working on cutting back Scottish government spending amid a “very challenging environment” for public finances.
Scottish ministers have already begun cutting spending, including scrapping a pilot scheme that removed peak fares from all domestic rail services, in preparation for an emergency budget this autumn.
The PA news agency reports:
Ms Robison said more cost-cutting measures are needed following the Treasury’s review of public finances and uncertainty over how pay review body recommendations will be funded.
Earlier this month she confirmed a freeze on public sector recruitment for everything except “essential frontline” posts.
Scottish ministers have also confirmed their version of the winter heating payment will now be means-tested, following a similar decision by the UK government.
The arts body Creative Scotland has also closed one of its key funds due to concerns over support from the Scottish government.
In a letter to Kenneth Gibson, convener of Holyrood’s finance committee, Ms Robison said more cost-cutting is needed in the 2024/25 financial year.
She said: “The Scottish government, along with government and public sector bodies across the UK, faces a very challenging environment as we manage our finances through the current financial year and set our budget for 2025-26.
“I am working with my cabinet colleagues to agree the necessary actions to reduce expenditure and ensure our finances are on a sustainable footing.
“Further to this, additional measures are now necessary following the UK Treasury’s recent audit of public spending and lack of clarity over whether their decision to deliver pay review body recommendations will be fully funded.”
Details are expected to be set out when the Scottish parliament returns from recess in early September.
Kemi Badenoch leads in first YouGov poll of Tory members for Conservative leadership contest
A new YouGov survey of 910 Conservative members shows the shadow communities secretary, Kemi Badenoch, is the current frontrunner to be the next leader of the Tory party, with nearly a quarter of the vote.
These are the results from the members being asked which of the of six contenders they thought should take over as Tory leader:
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Kemi Badenoch – 24%
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Tom Tugendhat – 16%
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James Cleverly – 14%
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Robert Jenrick – 12%
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Priti Patel – 11%
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Mel Stride – 2%.
19% of the respondents were still undecided at the time of the poll, which was conducted from August 6-15.
Kemi Badenoch is the frontrunner in our new poll of Tory members for the 2024 leadership contest
% saying is their preferred candidate…
Kemi Badenoch: 24%
Tom Tugendhat: 16%
James Cleverly: 14%
Robert Jenrick: 12%
Priti Patel: 11%
Mel Stride: 2%Don’t know: 19%… pic.twitter.com/ubGRLBUCUh
— YouGov (@YouGov) August 23, 2024
Badenoch has long been considered the frontrunner in the Tory leadership contest. She has said the Conservatives “will speak the truth again” and return to its roots if she wins it. The MP for north west Essex has argued for leaving the European convention on human rights, a major dividing line within her party.
The former business secretary previously ran for the Tory leadership after the resignation of Boris Johnson and came fourth.
Rishi Sunak, the former prime minister and current leader of the opposition, will hand over to his successor on 2 November after an extended Conservative leadership contest.
Hundreds of Jobcentre security guards are to stage a wave of fresh strikes in a long-running dispute over pay.
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said more than 400 of its members employed by G4S for the Department for Work and Pensions will walk out for seven days from 9 September and again from September 23 (here is the PCS’ press release).
They have already taken 22 days’ strike action and will begin another four-day walkout action from Tuesday.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said:
When will G4S get the message that our members will not sit back and accept a pay rise that is just 23p above the “National Living Wage” while G4S rakes in millions?
Our members risk their safety every day to protect Jobcentre workers and visitors. G4S can afford to pay them a decent wage, so why don’t they?
Taxpayers face estimated £200m bill because HS2 trains are too high for station platforms – report
The i reports that HS2 trains are too high for some existing station platforms, meaning taxpayers will have to spend nearly £200m on the infrastructure project, which has been beset by issues and spiralling costs. The stations with platforms of concern are: Oxenholme, Penrith, Motherwell, Runcorn, Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Lancaster, Macclesfield, Stockport and Glasgow Central, according to the i.
Originally planned as a Y-shaped line linking London with Manchester and Yorkshire, HS2 has been progressively cut back and downgraded. Boris Johnson’s government cancelled plans for HS2 to reach Leeds in November 2021.
Rishi Sunak axed the second leg of HS2, the UK’s largest infrastructure project, and scaled back plans for London Euston station in October last year. HS2 said there were over £2bn in costs linked to Sunak’s decision to downgrade the high-speed rail line.
This report, published earlier today, is from the i’s chief political correspondent, Richard Vaughan:
As the Chancellor Rachel Reeves mulls tax rises and spending cuts to balance the UK’s books, taxpayers will have to find another £200m to refit HS2 train carriages because their doors are too high for ordinary station platforms.
Industry sources told i that Network Rail and the Office for Rail and Road were unwilling to allow the 225mph trains to run on the existing network because of fears that the gap between the train and the platform will be too great, making them unsafe.
“There are grave concerns regarding the rolling stock,” a source told i, claiming that Network Rail was unlikely to allow the trains to run on their network due to safety concerns.
Insiders say that the decision by former prime minister Rishi Sunak to scrap the scheme north of Birmingham, means the trains have a greater exposure to the existing network, heightening concerns that they are unfit for use on Network Rail platforms.
HS2 Ltd, created to deliver the £57bn project, said the trains were still in the design phase, and would now be fitted with a “two-step” solution to manage concerns around the gap on conventional platforms.
The news comes just days after it emerged that the trains will require a separate redesign to have extra doors added on each carriage to shorten the time the trains are sitting on the platforms – known as “dwell times” – to allow passengers to alight.
Amelia Gentleman
Amelia Gentleman is a reporter for the Guardian
The UK must act to curb a sharp increase in the use of racist hate speech by British politicians and high-profile public figures, a UN body has said.
Ministers must “adopt comprehensive measures to discourage and combat racist hate speech and xenophobic discourse by political and public figures” and ensure that such cases are “effectively investigated and sanctioned”, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended in a report.
The UN officials declined to name which politicians or public figures had made comments triggering the committee’s concern, but added there were “so many credible reports” of racist comments by high-profile individuals that there was “no doubt that the issue is a serious one in the UK”.
Presenting the report on Friday based on a four-year review into Britain’s record on tackling race discrimination, the committee highlighted “very troubling” manifestations of racism within the UK, flagging particular concern about racial profiling in stop and search practices, and the “excessive and deadly” use of force by law enforcement.
Committee members were “particularly concerned about the high number of strip-searches carried out on children, especially children of African descent, by law enforcement officials, and at the increase of police presence in schools with higher proportions of ethnic minority children”.
The government should “take steps to address the over-policing of schools with higher proportions of ethnic minority pupils and adopt and strengthen legislation and other measures to explicitly prohibit strip-searches on children,” the report advised.
As was mentioned in the post at 11.02, as of Friday, the prison population in England and Wales stood at 88,234.
The PA news agency has analysed MoJ figures and says this figure is the highest end-of-week number since weekly data was first published in 2011.
The previous weekly high, reached on 13 October 2023, was 88,225. The latest figure is higher than the peak reached in the aftermath of the 2011 summer riots, 88,179 recorded on 2 December that year. It is also more than 9,000 higher than three years ago, when it stood at 78,832 on 20 August 2021.
The MoJ said:
The new government inherited a prisons crisis, and this is yet another sign of the pressures our justice system is facing. The changes coming into force in September will bring it under control.
Independent judges decide when to schedule court hearings and do so in the interests of justice, including to ensure the effective operation of the criminal justice system.
John Swinney has said Scotland will “always support” an independent Ukraine, as he addressed a ceremony in Edinburgh to mark Ukrainian independence day on 24 August.
The first minister also offered his support to Ukrainians who have come to Scotland for “sanctuary” from the fighting in their homeland.
The ceremony, held outside the City Chambers, saw members of the Ukrainian community come together to commemorate those who have been killed in the conflict, while also marking the anniversary of the signing of Ukraine’s declaration of independence on 24 August 1991.
Speaking at the event, Swinney said:
Please know that my thoughts are with you – your friends, your families, your neighbours in Ukraine – today and every day.
Those fighting on the frontline, those who have given their lives defending the outcome of the 1991 referendum, and all those innocent lives that have been upended, or lost, as a result of Russia’s unlawful, barbaric and wasteful invasion of Ukraine.
Scotland’s thoughts remain with you, and will be reflected in our deeds, for as long as takes.
Until there is enduring peace in Europe, until we regain Ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity once more, we stand with Ukraine.
Swinney’s comments come only days after a spokesperson for Keir Starmer reassured Kyiv of Britain’s support for Ukraine, in response to comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who said London’s support was weakening.
Zelenskiy said at the weekend that although Britain’s leadership had saved thousands of lives since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, support had recently “slowed down”.
“The prime minister remains absolutely resolute in his support for Ukraine,” Starmer’s spokesperson said. “In terms of our support, again, it is unwavering.”
Organisers of a cycle race in Wales have been forced to change and shorten its route because of the introduction of the 20mph speed limit in parts of the country.
Three of the five stages of the Junior Tour of Wales, which starts on Friday, have been changed because support vehicles would not have been able to keep up with the riders without breaking the limit.
Last September Wales became the first country in the UK to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph in built-up areas, although councils have the power to exempt certain regions.
Last month the Welsh government published figures showing the number of people injured and killed on 20 and 30mph roads from January to March had fallen by more than a quarter.
The Welsh government also says cutting the speed limit will protect lives and save the NHS in Wales £92m a year. It predicts the change will save up to 100 lives and prevent 20,000 casualties in the first decade.
A petition against the law, on the Welsh parliament webpage, was signed by nearly 470,000 people.
You can read the full story by my colleague Sammy Gecsoyler here:
Law Society of England and Wales president Nick Emmerson has reacted to Lord Justice Green telling magistrates to delay sentencing offenders likely to be jailed until at least 10 September.
Emmerson said the plan, first reported by the Times, shows the depth of the crisis in the justice system and has called for urgent funding to reduce delays for both victims and defendants.
He said:
This is another clear indicator of the scale of the crisis in our justice system and there are no easy solutions after decades of neglect.
The government and judiciary are having to make difficult choices to try to mitigate the emergency in the short term.
An urgent injection of funding is needed across our justice system. Otherwise, justice will continue to be delayed for victims and defendants.
Unless investment is forthcoming to ensure we have a functioning justice system, victims will continue to lose faith and deterrence for criminals will diminish.
Here is court of appeal judge Lord Justice Green’s listing direction (see post at 09.58) – telling magistrates to consider not jailing some convicted criminals until next month – in full.
The judge, who is the deputy senior presiding judge for England and Wales, said:
The following direction is made in the context of the current challenges in our prisons, and order to assist the magistrates’ courts in the management of lists over the next few weeks pending the coming into force of the new early release arrangements which will begin to come into effect on 10 September 2024.
Courts are responsible for the proper administration of justice. It is therefore appropriate that the judiciary have regard to the wider functioning of the criminal justice system.
Whilst listing is a judicial responsibility and function, the Criminal Practice Direction (at 5.14.5.a) states that the practical operation of the listing process in the magistrates’ courts is the responsibility of the local Head of Legal Operations (HoLO).
In the discharge of the listing responsibility the HoLOs should review all cases listed for sentence up to and including Friday 6 September where the defendant is currently on bail.
Where it is assessed that a custodial sentence is a possible outcome, consideration should be given to rescheduling the hearing for the shortest possible period of time, but not earlier than 10 September.
Every case must be considered on an individual basis and decisions must be made on the basis of the interests of justice. It follows that this needs to be a careful process.
Downing Street has issued a readout of Keir Starmer’s call this morning with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping (see post at 11.19).
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
The prime minister spoke to President Xi Jinping of China this morning. The prime minister began by setting out his priorities for his government, including national security, secure borders and economic stability.
The leaders discussed areas of shared collaboration, and potential areas of cooperation between the UK and China, including on trade, the economy and education.
As permanent members of the UN security council, the leaders agreed on the importance of close working in areas, such as climate change and global security.
The prime minister added that he hoped the leaders would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary, such as Hong Kong, Russia’s war in Ukraine and human rights.
The leaders also agreed on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialogue between their respective foreign and domestic ministers. They agreed to stay in touch.
Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said his organisation had already interviewed “several suspects” under caution and continued to speak to witnesses and gather documentary and electronic evidence.
He said:
We clearly appreciate the level of public interest there is in this investigation but in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time, including the name of any person who may be under suspicion, or the total number of suspects.
The Guardian revealed in June that Craig Williams, who was Rishi Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary was a Tory MP before losing his seat in July, placed a £100 bet on a July election three days before the prime minister named the date.
The Conservatives eventually withdrew support for Williams as their candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, along with Bristol North West candidate Laura Saunders, who was also alleged to have placed a bet.
Saunders’ husband, Tony Lee, the Conservative party’s director of campaigning, and Tory chief data officer Nick Mason took leaves of absence during the campaign after being implicated in the scandal, while Senedd member Russell George stepped back from the shadow cabinet in the Welsh parliament after being placed under investigation.
Met police end probe into election gambling scandal with no charges made
The Metropolitan police has ended its involvement in the criminal investigation into the placing of bets on the date of the general election.
The force previously said it was probing whether a “small number” of bets on the 4 July poll had involved more serious offences including misconduct in public office.
A number of Conservatives have been caught up in the Gambling Commission inquiry, including Rishi Sunak’s former parliamentary aide, Craig Williams.
But the Met said after a review of evidence with the CPS that “it was determined that the high bar for misconduct in public office to be proven was not met”.
The investigation by the Gambling Commission into whether offences were committed under the Gambling Act continues.
In a statement, Det Supt Katherine Goodwin said:
These allegations caused a significant dent in public confidence during the election campaign and it was right that they were investigated to explore all possible offences.
While our involvement in the criminal investigation now ceases, it’s important that is not misinterpreted as an all clear for those whose cases were looked at. There are still Gambling Act offences to consider and it is appropriate that they are taken forward by investigators from the Gambling Commission who have particular expertise in this field.
Seven police officers who are alleged to have placed bets are still among those being investigated by the Gambling Commission. They also remain under investigation by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
Keir Starmer to today pass the time Liz Truss spent in office as PM
Keir Starmer will today pass the time Liz Truss spent in Downing Street as prime minister. Truss became PM on 6 September 2022, replacing Boris Johnson after defeating Rishi Sunak in a Tory leadership contest. It took 45 days between her arriving in Downing Street and announcing her resignation after her mini-Budget, which included £45bn of unfunded tax cuts, triggered economic turmoil. She spent 49 days in office overall. Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died on 8 September 2022, aged 96. A period of national mourning followed her death.
The Daily Star set up a webcam on the lettuce to see if it would have a longer shelf-life than Truss. The lettuce won.
Starmer entered Downing Street as Labour prime minister on 5 July 2024, after sweeping to power in a Labour landslide at the 4 July general election. With it, Labour ended 14 years of Conservative rule, with the worst ever performance for the party that ushered in Brexit and delivered often chaotic government.
Truss – whose premiership was blamed by many Conservatives for the historic defeat – was among prominent (former) MPs – who lost their seats last month. She lost her South West Norfolk seat by 640 votes to Labour.
The former prime minister has recently been trying to promote her memoir, Ten Years to Save the West. She has become vocal on US politics, last month addressing Republican supporters and urging them to learn lessons from her brief time in No 10. She said: “I’ve learned how powerful the unelected bureaucracy is. You have to win in November … you have to dismantle the leftist state … they are devious, they are ruthless and they are out to get you.”
