Tory Welsh Secretary puts ‘on record’ that he did not place bet on election date
The Conservative Welsh secretary has “put on record” that he did not place a bet on the date of the general election as Rishi Sunak continues to face questions about a growing scandal.
David TC Davies told Sky News he had not bet on the date of the election after two Conservative candidates were placed under investigation by the Gambling Commission for allegedly doing so.
Mr Davies said the news that two candidates were being investigated came as a “complete surprise to me”.
Election latest:
Sunak ‘incredibly angry’ as scandal engulfs campaign
Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate for Bristol North West, is being investigated by the Gambling Commission alongside her husband, Tony Lee, the party’s director of campaigns.
Ms Saunders said she “will be co-operating with the Gambling Commission” probe, while her husband “took a leave of absence” from his role on Wednesday night, a Conservative Party spokesman told Sky News.
It comes a week after the prime minister’s close parliamentary aide Craig Williams, the Tory candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, admitted to putting a “flutter” on the election, saying this has resulted in “some routine inquiries” which he was co-operating with “fully”.
Craig Williams admitted to betting on the election date. Pic: PA
Mr Sunak’s close protection officer has also been arrested and suspended over alleged bets about the timing of the election.
A gambling industry source told Sky News that “more names” are being looked at, though police “are not involved” in those cases.
But Mr Davies said he had “absolutely no idea” whether more names were going to emerge as part of the commission’s investigation.
“The news of those two is a complete surprise to me,” he said.
“I just want to put on record – I certainly haven’t bet myself and in fact I haven’t made any bets on anything for many years.
“I didn’t know the election was coming until probably the morning. I had an inclination, I wasn’t absolutely certain even then, and I’ve no idea who – if anyone – has placed any bets and what further investigation is going on.”
? Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts ?
Mr Davies added: “What I will say, I will repeat the prime minister’s words – it’s totally unacceptable if people have broken the rules in any way, there is an investigation going on by the Gambling Commission and I welcome that, and anyone who is found to have broken the rules will be kicked out of the Conservative Party.”
The prime minister told the BBC Question Time leader’s special on Thursday he was “incredibly angry” to learn of the allegations, calling it a “really serious matter”.
Pressed on why those under suspicion haven’t been suspended, Mr Sunak said an investigation had to take place first – but anyone guilty would be “booted out” of the party.
Read more:
Sunak’s good, bad and ugly Question Time
Former Tory minister says he’ll vote Labour
Pic: BBC
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Labour Party has called on Mr Sunak to suspend those involved immediately.
Shadow science secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News: “Keir Starmer said very clearly yesterday that had this been anything involving in a Labour candidate, then their feet wouldn’t have touched the ground. They’d be out.”
Put to him that the prime minister believed the investigation should be allowed to progress, Mr Kyle said: “We are in the general election campaign. In two weeks’ time, the country will go to the voting booths and they will cast their vote.
“And Rishi Sunak is quite clear… quite comfortable campaigning alongside MPs… allowing members of staff to be putting to the country a prospectus for the future, which is a message being carried by people who are under investigation.”
The full list of candidates in Bristol North West:
• Caroline Gooch – Liberal Democrats
• Darren Jones – Labour Party
• Scarlett O’Connor – Reform UK
• Mary Page – Green Party
• Laura Saunders – Conservative and Unionist Party
• Ben Smith – Social Democratic Party
The full list of candidates in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr:
• Jeremy Brignell-Thorp – Green Party
• Oliver Lewis – Reform UK
• Glyn Preston – Liberal Democrats
• Elwyn Vaughan – Plaid Cymru (The Party Of Wales)
• Craig Williams – Conservative and Unionist Party
• Steve Witherden – Labour Party
Altcoins may see a resurgence in the second quarter of 2025 as regulations for digital assets continue to improve, according to Swiss bank Sygnum.
In its Q2 2025 investment outlook, Sygnum said the space has seen “drastically improved” regulations for crypto use cases, creating the foundations for a strong alt-sector rally for the second quarter. However, it added that “none of the positive developments have been priced in.”
In April, Bitcoin dominance reached a four-year high, signaling that crypto investors are rotating their funds into an asset perceived to be relatively safer.
But Sygnum believes regulatory developments in the US, such as President Donald Trump’s establishment of a Digital Asset Stockpile and advancing stablecoin regulations, could propel broader crypto adoption.
“We expect protocols successful in gaining user traction to outperform and Bitcoin’s dominance to decline,” Sygnum wrote.
Increased focus on economic value ignites competition
Sygnum also said that competition would increase as the market focuses on economic value. Increased competition in a market often results in better products, ultimately benefiting consumers:
“The market’s increased focus on economic value compels greater competition for user growth and revenues, with rising protocols such as Toncoin, Sui, Aptos, Sonic, or Berachain taking different approaches.”
Sygnum added that while high-performance blockchains address limitations of the Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana blockchains, these chains find it challenging to achieve meaningful adoption and fee income.
The report highlighted that some approaches have been more sustainable. These include Berachain’s approach of incentivizing validators to provide liquidity to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, Sonic’s rewarding developers that attract and retain users, and Toncoin’s Telegram affiliation to access one billion users.
Aside from layer-1 chains, Sygnum highlighted that layer-2 networks like Base also have potential. The report pointed out that while the memecoin frenzy on the blockchain pushed its users and revenue to new highs, it made an equally sharp decline after memecoins started losing steam.
Despite this, Sygnum noted that Base remains the layer-2 leader in metrics like daily transactions, throughput and total value locked.
Related: Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs
Memecoins still a leading crypto narrative in Q1
Despite recent price declines, memecoins remained a dominant crypto narrative in Q1 2025. A CoinGecko report recently highlighted that memecoins remained dominant as a crypto narrative in the first quarter of 2025. The crypto data company said memecoins had 27.1% of global investor interest, second only to artificial intelligence tokens, which had 35.7%.
While retail investors are still busy with memecoins, institutions have a different approach. Asset manager Bitwise reported on April 14 that publicly traded firms are stacking up on Bitcoin. At least twelve public companies purchased Bitcoin for the first time in Q1 2025, pushing public firm holdings to $57 billion.
Magazine: Uni students crypto ‘grooming’ scandal, 67K scammed by fake women: Asia Express
It was perhaps not quite how officials, in London at least, had envisaged the announcement of the state visit would be made.
In the Oval Office, Donald Trump revealed the news in his own way.
“I was invited by the King and the great country. They are going to do a second fest – that’s what it is. It is beautiful,” he said during an impromptu Oval Office moment.
The question was, did this “fest” – which Mr Trump suggested could happen in September – amount to the much hyped second state visit for the American president?
Or was this actually just the smaller visit that had been offered two months ago as an initial bilateral visit at which the state visit would be discussed?
Back in February, Sir Keir Starmer presented the president with a letter from King Charles and the offer of a state visit.
The letter proposed an initial meeting between the King and the president to discuss details of the state visit at either Dumfries House or Balmoral, both in Scotland, close to Mr Trump’s golf clubs.
The King wrote: “Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom… As you will know this is unprecedented by a US president. That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content.”
As he revealed the news of his “fest” with his “friend Charles”, Mr Trump said: “I think they are setting a date for September…”
Sources have since confirmed to Sky News that it will amount to the full state visit.
Read more from Sky News:
Man hijacks plane and stabs passengers before being shot dead
Evidence contradicts Israel’s account of attack on aid workers
Gang war gripping major cities
Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: Reuters
‘Even more important’
It’s possible the initial less formal presidential trip may still happen between now and September. Mr Trump is in Europe for the NATO summit in June and is due in Scotland to open a new golf course soon too.
“It is the second time it has happened to one person. The reason is we have two separate terms, and it’s an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William,” the president said.
“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one. The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”
His last state visit in 2019, at the invitation of the late Queen, drew significant protests epitomised by the giant blow-up “Baby Trump” which floated over Parliament Square.
The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
Britain’s trump card
September is a little earlier than had been expected for the visit. It may be an advantage for it to happen sooner rather than later, given the profoundly consequential and controversial nature of the first few months of his second term.
The decision by the British government to play its “state visit trump card” up front back in February drew some criticism.
And since February, Mr Trump’s position on numerous issues has been increasingly at odds with all of America’s allies.
On Ukraine, he has seemingly aligned himself closely with Vladimir Putin. His tariffs have caused a global economic shock. And on issues like Greenland and Canada, a member of the Commonwealth, he has generated significant diplomatic shock.
A risk worth taking
Mr Trump is as divisive among the British public as he is in America. Sir Keir is already walking a political tightrope by choosing the softly softly approach with the White House.
👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈
The UK government chose not to retaliate against Mr Trump’s tariffs, unlike some allies. Sir Keir and his cabinet have been at pains not to be seen to criticise the president in any way as they seek to influence him on Ukraine and seek an elusive economic deal on tariffs.
On that tariff deal, despite some positive language from the US side and offers on the table, there has yet to be a breakthrough. A continuing challenge is engaging with the president for decisions and agreements only he, not his cabinet, will make.
British officials acknowledge the risk the state visit poses. In this presidency, anything could happen between now and September.
But they argue British soft power and Mr Trump’s fondness for the Royal Family and pomp – or a “fest” as he calls it – amount to vital diplomatic clout.
For a special relationship under strain, a special state visit is the tonic.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway