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More political figures are being looked into over bets placed on the timing of the general election, a gambling industry source has told Sky News.

Two Tory candidates are already being investigated by the Gambling Commission over alleged wagers placed on the date of the 4 July contest.

An industry source told Sky News that “more names” are being looked at, though police “are not involved”.

Follow live: Tory candidate ‘considers legal action’

It risks throwing Rishi Sunak’s campaign into further turmoil after it emerged on Thursday that Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate for Bristol North West, is being looked into by the watchdog.

She has worked for the party since 2015 and is married to the Conservative Party’s director of campaigns, Tony Lee.

Mr Lee “took a leave of absence” from his role on Wednesday night, a Conservative Party spokesman told Sky News.

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It is not known how much money Ms Saunders placed or when the bet was made.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, she said she will be “cooperating with the Gambling Commission” investigation.

She also said she is considering “legal action against the BBC” claiming their initial story was “premature” and “in breach of her privacy rights”.

The full statement, released by Ms Saunders’ solicitor, said: “As the Conservative Party has already stated investigations are ongoing.

“Ms Saunders will be co-operating with the Gambling Commission and has nothing further to add.

“It is inappropriate to conduct any investigation of this kind via the media, and doing so risks jeopardising the work of the Gambling Commission and the integrity of its investigation.

“The publication of the BBC’s story is premature and is a clear infringement of Ms Saunders’ privacy rights. She is considering legal action against the BBC and any other publishers who infringe her privacy rights.”

The incident comes a week after the prime minister’s close parliamentary aide Craig Williams, the Tory candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, was revealed to have placed a bet on a July election date three days before the prime minister announced it.

Craig Williams admitted to betting on the election date. Pic: PA
Image:
Craig Williams admitted to betting on the election date. Pic: PA

The prime minister’s close protection officer has been arrested and suspended over alleged bets about the timing of the election.

Labour Party campaign sources told Sky News they noticed the odds on a July election narrow the day before Mr Sunak announced it on 22 May.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, who is stepping down after 19 years as an MP, told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley: “It’s deeply disappointing and upsetting.

“But I have to say it’s the exception rather than the rule.”

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Gove: Alleged betting ‘unacceptable’

He later said the whole episode is “deeply regrettable”, and added: “I can tell you how the world will think it looks, which is not great.”

In the hours after it was revealed Ms Saunders’ bet was being looked into, the Conservatives deleted a social media post they had put up the previous day featuring a video of a roulette wheel and the caption: “If you bet on Labour, you can never win.”

The Conservatives deleted this tweet featuring a roulette table, telling voters if they 'bet on Labour, you can never win'
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The Conservatives deleted this tweet featuring a roulette table, telling voters if they ‘bet on Labour, you can never win’

A Conservative spokesman told Sky News: “We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission about a small number of individuals.

“As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.”

A Gambling Commission spokesman told Sky News: “The Gambling Commission regulates gambling in the interests of consumers and the wider public.

“Currently, the commission is investigating the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election. This is an ongoing investigation, and the commission cannot provide any further details at this time.

“We are not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals involved in this investigation.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for Ms Saunders to be suspended and said it is “very telling” Mr Sunak has not already done so.

“If it was one of my candidates, they’d be gone and their feet would not have touched the floor,” he added.

The officer who has been arrested is a member of the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP) Command, which provides personal close protection to ministerial VIPs and members of the Royal Family.

What is the law around gambling?

There are strict rules around gambling, with the latest laws updated in 2005.

Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 deals with cheating and says a person commits an offence if they cheat at gambling or do “anything for the purpose of enabling or assisting another person to cheat at gambling”.

It adds: “It is immaterial whether a person who cheats improves his changes of winning anything, or wins anything.”

Cheating is defined as an “actual or attempted deception or interference in connection with the process by which gambling is conducted, or a real or virtual game, race or other event or process to which gambling relates”.

Someone found guilty of cheating at gambling can be imprisoned for a maximum of two years and/or fined, or six months in prison for a lesser offence.

Betting with insider knowledge is also not allowed as an MP, with the MPs’ code of conduct prohibiting members from “causing significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the house”.

Sky News understands several bets were placed by the officer, with at least one of them being a three-figure sum.

The Met Police said the matter was immediately referred on 14 June to officers in the force’s directorate of professional standards, who opened an investigation. The officer was also removed from operational duties.

In a statement, the Met said: “The officer was subsequently arrested on Monday 17 June on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was taken into custody and bailed pending further enquiries.”

Mr Sunak said he was “disappointed” about Mr Williams after it emerged last week that he had bet on a July election.

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Mr Williams, who was Mr Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS), is facing an investigation after he “put a flutter on the general election” three days before the 4 July date was announced.

The odds at the time were 5/1 and he placed £100 on, which would have led to a £500 payout.

In a statement, he said his “flutter” on the election had prompted some “routine inquiries” and that he would “fully co-operate with these”.

“I don’t want it to be a distraction from the campaign. I should have thought through how it looks,” he added.

Sky News has contacted Ms Saunders for a comment but she has not replied.

The other candidates for Bristol North West are:

Caroline Gooch, Lib Dems

Darren Jones, Labour

Scarlett O’Connor, Reform UK

Mary Page, Green Party

Ben Smith, SDP

The other candidates for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr are:

Jeremy Brignell-Thorp, Green Party

Oliver Lewis, Reform Uk

Glyn Preston, Lib Dems

Elwyn Vaughan, Plaid Cymru

Steve Witherden, Labour

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Hundreds of UK moderators have left TikTok – sparking safety fears, whistleblowers reveal

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Hundreds of UK moderators have left TikTok - sparking safety fears, whistleblowers reveal

Hundreds of UK online safety workers at TikTok have already signed agreements to leave the company, whistleblowers have told Sky News, despite the firm stressing to MPs that the cuts were “still proposals only”.

More than 400 online safety workers have agreed to leave the social media company, with only five left in consultation, Sky News understands.

“[The workers have] signed a mutual termination agreement, a legally binding contract,” said John Chadfield, national officer for the Communication Workers’ Union.

“They’ve handed laptops in, they’ve handed passes in, they’ve been told not to come to the office. That’s no longer a proposal, that’s a foregone conclusion. That’s a plan that’s been executed.”

Moderators gathered to protest the redundancies
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Moderators gathered to protest the redundancies

In August, TikTok announced a round of mass layoffs to its Trust and Safety teams.

“Everyone in Trust and Safety” was emailed, said Lucy, a moderator speaking on condition of anonymity for legal reasons.

After a mandatory 45-day consultation period, the teams were then sent “mutual termination agreements” to sign by 31 October.

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Sky News has seen correspondence from TikTok to the employees telling them to sign by that date.

“We had to sign it before the 31st if we wanted the better deal,” said Lucy, who had worked for TikTok for years.

“If we signed it afterwards, that diminished the benefits that we get.”

Three former moderators at TikTok have spoken to Sky News on camera
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Three former moderators at TikTok have spoken to Sky News on camera

Despite hundreds of moderators signing the termination contracts by 31 October, Ali Law, TikTok’s director of public policy and government affairs for northern Europe, said to MPs in a letter on 7 November: “It is important to stress the cuts remain proposals only.”

“We continue to engage directly with potentially affected team members,” he said in a letter to Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, innovation and technology committee.

After signing the termination contracts, the employees say they were asked to hand in their laptops and had access to their work systems revoked. They were put on gardening leave until 30 December.

“We really felt like we were doing something good,” said Saskia, a moderator also speaking under anonymity.

“You felt like you had a purpose, and now, you’re the first one to get let go.”

TikTok moderators and union workers protested outside the company's London headquarters in September
Image:
TikTok moderators and union workers protested outside the company’s London headquarters in September

A TikTok worker not affected by the job cuts confirmed to Sky News that all of the affected Trust and Safety employees “are now logged out of the system”.

“Workers and the wider public are rightly concerned about these job cuts that impact safety online,” said the TUC’s general secretary, Paul Nowak.

“But TikTok seem to be obscuring the reality of job cuts to MPs. TikTok need to come clean and clarify how many vital content moderators’ roles have gone.

“The select committee must do everything to get to the bottom of the social media giant’s claims, the wider issues of AI moderation, and ensure that other workers in the UK don’t lose their jobs to untested, unsafe and unregulated AI systems.”

Moderators and union representatives outside TikTok's offices
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Moderators and union representatives outside TikTok’s offices

What TikTok has said about the job cuts

In an interview with Sky News on 18 November, Mr Law again called the cuts “proposals”.

When asked if the cuts were in fact a plan that had already been executed, Mr Law said there was “limited amounts” he could directly comment on.

TikTok told us: “It is entirely right that we follow UK employment law, including when consultations remained ongoing for some employees and roles were still under proposal for removal.

“We have been open and transparent about the changes that were proposed, including in detailed public letters to the committee, and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.”

The three whistleblowers Sky News spoke to said they were concerned TikTok users would be put at risk by the cuts.

The company said it will increase the role of AI in its moderation, while maintaining some human safety workers, but one whistleblower said she didn’t think the AI was “ready”.

“People are getting new ideas and new trends are coming. AI cannot get this,” said Anna, a former moderator.

“Even now, with the things that it’s supposed to be ready to do, I don’t think it’s ready.”

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Is TikTok improving safety with AI?

Lucy also said she thought the cuts would put users at risk.

“There are a lot of nuances in the language. AI cannot understand all the nuances,” she said.

“AI cannot differentiate some ironic comment or versus a real threat or bullying or of a lot of things that have to do with user safety, mainly of children and teenagers.”

TikTok has been asked by MPs for evidence that its safety rates – which are currently some of the best in the industry – will not worsen after these cuts.

The select committee says it has not produced that evidence, although TikTok insists safety will improve.

“[In its letter to MPs] TikTok refers to evidence showing that their proposed staffing cuts and changes will improve content moderation and fact-checking – but at no point do they present any credible data on this to us,” said Dame Chi earlier this month.

“It’s alarming that they aren’t offering us transparency over this information. Without it, how can we have any confidence whether these changes will safeguard users?”

Dame Chi Onwurah speaks at the House of Commons. File pic: Reuters
Image:
Dame Chi Onwurah speaks at the House of Commons. File pic: Reuters

TikTok’s use of AI in moderation

In an exclusive interview with Sky News earlier this month, Mr Law said the new moderation model would mean TikTok can “approach moderation with a higher level of speed and consistency”.

He said: “Because, when you’re doing this from a human moderation perspective, there are trade-offs.

“If you want something to be as accurate as possible, you need to give the human moderator as much time as possible to make the right decision, and so you’re trading off speed and accuracy in a way that might prove harmful to people in terms of being able to see that content.

“You don’t have that with the deployment of AI.”

As well as increasing the role of AI in moderation, TikTok is reportedly offshoring jobs to agencies in other countries.

Sky News has spoken to multiple workers who confirmed they’d seen their jobs being advertised in other countries through third-party agencies, and has independently seen moderator job adverts in places like Lisbon.

John Chadfield, national officer for technology at the Communication Workers Union
Image:
John Chadfield, national officer for technology at the Communication Workers Union

“AI is a fantastic fig leaf. It’s a fig leaf for greed,” said Mr Chadfield. “In TikTok’s case, there’s a fundamental wish to not be an employer of a significant amount of staff.

“As the platform has grown, as it has grown to hundreds of millions of users, they have realised that the overhead to maintain a professional trust and safety division means hundreds of thousands of staff employed by TikTok.

“But they don’t want that. They see themselves as, you know, ‘We want specialists in the roles employed directly by TikTok and we’ll offshore and outsource the rest’.”

Mr Law told Sky News that TikTok is always focused “on outcomes”.

He said: “Our focus is on making sure the platform is as safe as possible.

“And we will make deployments of the most advanced technology in order to achieve that, working with the many thousands of trust and safety professionals that we will have at TikTok around the world on an ongoing basis.”

Asked specifically about the safety concerns raised by the whistleblowers, TikTok said: “As we have laid out in detail, this reorganisation of our global operating model for Trust and Safety will ensure we maximize effectiveness and speed in our moderation processes.

“We will continue to use a combination of technology and human teams to keep our users safe, and today over 85% of the content removed for violating our rules is identified and taken down by automated technologies.”

*All moderator names have been changed for legal reasons.

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3.3-magnitude earthquake shakes part of northwest England

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3.3-magnitude earthquake shakes part of northwest England

A 3.3-magnitude earthquake has struck Lancashire – with dozens of people saying it shook their homes or woke them up.

The British Geological Society (BGS) told Sky News it was “felt across the South Lakes and Lancashire, mainly within 20km of the epicentre”, including Kendal and Ulverston in neighbouring Cumbria.

Preliminary data suggests it struck off the coast of Silverdale at 11.23pm, at a depth of 1.86 miles (3km).

Each year, between 200 and 300 earthquakes are detected and located in the UK by the BGS.

Between 20 and 30 earthquakes are felt by people each year, and a few hundred smaller ones are only recorded by sensitive instruments.

Most of these are very small and cause no damage.

People posted their reaction online. Reports included that the earthquake “felt like an explosion and vibration coming from underground”.

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Another comment said it “sounded like bricks falling/the roof falling in”, while another wrote that it was “so powerful to shake the whole house”.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

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Four mayoral elections to be postponed – as Labour accused of ‘scandalous attempt to subvert democracy’

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Four mayoral elections to be postponed - as Labour accused of 'scandalous attempt to subvert democracy'

Four mayoral elections due to take place in May 2026 are set to be postponed by two years, Sky News understands.

Elections for the new mayoralties of Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Sussex and Brighton, and Norfolk and Suffolk will be pushed back until 2028.

The decision, first revealed by The Sun, is due to be announced by ministers on Thursday.

This is the second time elections are being delayed in these areas. Local elections due in May 2025 were delayed by then communities secretary Angela Rayner for a year in order to convert them into combined authorities led by mayors.

However, it is understood that these councils need more time to complete their reorganisation.

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Will Tories and Reform unite?

The news has sparked accusations Labour are delaying the elections for political purposes.

Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf said: “This is a blatant attempt to stop big Reform wins next May.

“It’s an act of a desperate government who are clinging onto power by any means necessary.

“Labour has proven time and time again that they’re not beyond denying democracy to millions of people in order to maintain their cosy status quo.”

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

The Tories’ shadow housing secretary James Cleverly said it was a “scandalous attempt to subvert democracy by a Labour government whose credibility and popularity are already in tatters”.

“The Conservatives firmly oppose this decision to delay the mayoral elections, especially when candidates have been selected and campaigning is well under way,” he added.

“Democracy is being denied yet again after the council elections cancelled by Labour this year.

“There is no credible justification for this move. The Labour government must reverse it immediately.”

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Starmer denies misleading voters

The reorganisation is part of Labour’s manifesto commitment to widen devolution, which it argues will improve local economies.

The government wants to abolish the two-tier system of county and district councils and merge them together to create larger unitary authorities. It also wants more areas to have regional mayors, like Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham.

Read more:
Tory-Reform pact talks ‘not happening at any level’
Reeves hit by Labour rebellion

Reform UK enjoyed success in the local elections in May, winning more than 600 seats and taking control of 10 councils stretching from Kent to County Durham. The party also toppled a 14,000-strong Labour majority in a parliamentary by-election.

The Liberal Democrats’ local government spokesperson Zoe Franklin called the postponed elections “a disgrace”.

“Democracy delayed is democracy denied,” she added. “We are fighting to end this blatant stitch up between Labour and the Conservatives over local elections.”

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