“A senior Conservative official is being investigated by the Gambling Commission over allegations he placed dozens of bets on the timing of the election before it was announced publicly. Nick Mason, the Tories’ chief data officer, has been informed by the watchdog that he is part of the inquiry. After being approached for comment, the Conservative Party confirmed he has taken a leave of absence. He is the fourth Tory to be named since the controversy first erupted, with a police officer who was part of Rishi Sunak’s close protection team also under investigation. The revelation that the commission is also investigating Mason, who previously stood as a Tory parliamentary candidate in Jarrow in 2015, will further incense the PM and senior Conservatives.” – Sunday Times
“Likening the row to partygate, which saw Johnson’s No 10 investigated over gatherings during the pandemic, Gove said: “It looks like one rule for them and one rule for us … That’s the most potentially damaging thing. The perception that we operate outside the rules that we set for others. That was damaging at the time of partygate and is damaging here.” He added: “If you’re in a privileged position [close] to the prime minister at the heart of a political operation and you use inside information to make additional money for yourself, that’s just not acceptable”. – Sunday Times
“A Conservative parliamentary candidate and aide to Home Secretary James Cleverly has described the government’s flagship Rwanda immigration policy as “crap”. James Sunderland, who was the MP for Bracknell from 2019 to 2024 and is running to represent the constituency again, was recorded expressing the view at a private event in April. In the recording, passed to the BBC, he is heard to say: “The policy is crap, OK? It’s crap.” He goes on to defend the plan, saying it will deter migrants from trying to enter the UK by crossing the Channel. “It’s not about the policy. It’s about the effect of the policy,” he says. Mr Sunderland was speaking on 2 April at an event for Young Conservatives organised by a group called the True Blue Patrons Supper Club and titled: “What’s it like behind the scenes at the Home Office”. He has been a parliamentary private secretary to both Mr Cleverly and Suella Braverman.” – BBC News
“Nigel Farage doubled down last night on his claim that the West had “provoked” Russia to invade Ukraine. The Reform leader suggested on Friday that President Putin had been goaded into the attack. After criticism by rival leaders yesterday, Farage denied being an “apologist” for the Russian leader but insisted that the West had “played into his hands”. Rishi Sunak had said that Farage was “completely wrong” while Sir Keir Starmer described his comments as “disgraceful” and “disgusting”. During an election campaign visit in London, Sunak said that it was Farage’s intervention that “plays into Putin’s hands”. – Sunday Times
“NHS whistleblowers could be given new legal protections in Labour plans that would also make it easier to sack rogue managers and allow more doctors to run parts of the health service. Outlining a string of proposals to remove what he sees as a toxic cover-up culture in the NHS, Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said scandals such as the contaminated blood disaster, Lucy Letby’s multiple murders and the failure of maternity services, showed the health service had prioritised protecting its reputation over patient safety. “That cannot be allowed to continue,” he said.” – Sunday Times
“Labour will scrap the Tory party’s 2035 target to ban new gas boilers, Ed Miliband has pledged. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the shadow energy secretary said no one will “be forced to rip out their boiler” under Labour’s plans for reaching net zero targets. Instead, Mr Miliband will focus on financial incentives to encourage more people to install heat pumps. Rishi Sunak said in September last year that most homeowners would “only ever have to make the switch when you’re replacing your boiler anyway, and even then, not until 2035”. – Sunday Telegraph
“Nicola Sturgeon has been drafted in to address activists in Glasgow North before a mass canvassing session. Like Boris Johnson, she has largely taken a back seat in the campaign of the party she once led, showing up in a low-key manner to support her friends and allies (in person, whereas Johnson tends to appear via video from his holiday in Sardinia). During Wednesday’s manifesto launch, she was back at Holyrood sipping coffee with a colleague. Like Johnson, she remains incredibly popular with a core part of her party’s vote. But also like Johnson, she is now highly divisive.” – Sunday Times