Connect with us

Published

on

The Conservative Party has withdrawn its support for two candidates who are being investigated over betting on the timing of the general election.

The Conservative election campaign has been plunged into crisis as two Tory candidates, two officials, and an officer from Rishi Sunak’s close protection team are being investigated by the Gambling Commission over the placing of bets on the timing of the election.

The prime minister had insisted he had to wait until the Gambling Commission’s inquiry had concluded to take any action but had faced pressure to suspend Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, the two Tory candidates.

Follow live general election updates

On Tuesday morning, nearly two weeks after Mr Williams became the first person to be investigated, the Conservative Party announced they were no longer being supported as Tory candidates.

Ms Saunders is standing in Bristol North West and Mr Williams is standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr – the only Welsh seat the Conservatives were projected to win in last week’s YouGov poll.

They will still appear on ballot papers as Conservative candidates as it is too late to change them ahead of next Thursday’s vote but they will have no support for the rest of the campaign from the party and cannot call themselves Conservatives.

More from Politics

Whether they will remain as Conservatives after the election depends on the outcome of the Gambling Commission’s investigation, it is understood.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “As a result of ongoing internal enquiries, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as parliamentary candidates at the forthcoming general election.

“We have checked with the Gambling Commission that this decision does not compromise the investigation that they are conducting, which is rightly independent and ongoing.”

Sky News has contacted Ms Saunders and Mr Williams for a comment.

The two officials under investigation both took a leave of absence last week when their names were revealed. They are Tony Lee, the Tory’s director of campaigns and husband of Ms Saunders, and Nick Mason, the party’s chief data officer – who has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Sunak’s close protection officer has been arrested

Sky News understands many more people are being looked into as part of the investigation, and more police are being looked into to see if they are involved.

More politics:
Taylor Swift gig photo was ‘standout moment’ of Labour campaign
Davey: We felt we had a duty to talk about caring for our disabled son

What is the law around gambling?

There are stricts 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”.

Among those calling for Mr Sunak to suspend the candidates were fellow Conservatives Sir Robert Buckland, a former justice secretary; Tobias Ellwood, a former defence minister; Steve Baker, a current Northern Ireland minister; Home Secretary James Cleverly and Baroness Ruth Davidson, a former leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

Baroness Davidson, speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, had said Mr Sunak should ignore the watchdog and suspend those being investigated.

She said: “The Gambling Commission are very, very clear about what you’re not allowed to say when somebody’s being investigated by the Gambling Commission.

“But I’m sorry, you’re the prime minister of a G7 nation in the middle of an election campaign when you’re fighting for your life.

“If the Gambling Commission want to shout at you for suspending somebody and saying that, just do it. That’s what leadership is.”

? Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts ?

The Labour Party and Lib Dems had also called for the candidates to be suspended.

Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth said the delay in suspending the candidates shows the Conservatives believe “it is one rule for them, and another for everyone else”.

“It is yet another example of Rishi Sunak’s staggeringly weak leadership that it has taken him nearly two weeks to see what was obvious to everyone else,” he added.

“The Conservatives who sought to line their own pockets by betting on the election date are not fit to be candidates for parliament.

“Rishi Sunak now needs to come clean with voters across the country and tell them exactly how many of his Conservatives are implicated and who they are.”

Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dems’ deputy leader, said: “This should have happened immediately when these scandalous revelations emerged, but instead, Rishi Sunak has dithered and delayed.

“Sunak must confirm immediately that these candidates will not have the Conservative whip if elected.

“From the mini budget to this gambling scandal, the Conservatives have bet against Britain and now face a reckoning at the ballot box on 4 July.”

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

Continue Reading

Politics

Australia’s finance watchdog to crack down on dormant crypto exchanges

Published

on

By

Australia’s finance watchdog to crack down on dormant crypto exchanges

Australia’s finance watchdog to crack down on dormant crypto exchanges

Australia’s financial intelligence agency has told inactive registered crypto exchanges to withdraw their registrations or risk having them canceled over fears that the dormant firms could be used for scams.

There are currently 427 crypto exchanges registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), but the agency said on April 29 that it suspects a significant number are inactive and possibly vulnerable to being bought and co-opted by criminals.

The agency is contacting any so-called digital currency exchanges (DCEs) that appear to no longer be trading, and AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said they’ll be told to “use it or lose it.”

“Businesses registered with AUSTRAC are required to keep their details up to date; this includes details about services that are no longer provided,” he added.

Australia’s finance watchdog to crack down on dormant crypto exchanges
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas says scammers can use inactive crypto firms to appear legitimate. Source: AUSTRAC

Businesses wanting to offer Australians conversions between cash and crypto, including crypto ATM providers, must first register with AUSTRAC, which monitors for crimes including money laundering, terror financing and tax evasion.

The agency can cancel a registration if it has reasonable grounds to believe the business is no longer active or offering crypto-related services.

Ten firms have had their AUSTRAC registration canceled since 2019, with the most recent being FTX Express in June 2024, the local subsidiary of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.

AUSTRAC to launch public list of registered exchanges 

Following its blitz on inactive crypto exchanges, AUSTRAC said it will publish a list of registered exchanges to help Australians verify legitimate providers.

Thomas said the goal is to make it harder for criminals to scam people and improve the integrity and accuracy of AUSTRAC’s register.

“If a DCE does intend to offer a service, they need to contact us otherwise we will cancel the registration and this information will be added to the register,” he said.

“Members of the public should feel confident that they can identify legitimate cryptocurrency providers that are registered and subject to regulatory oversight and that we are driving criminals out of this industry,” Thomas added. 

Related: Australia’s top court sides with Block Earner, dismisses ASIC appeal

In February, the Anti-Money Laundering regulator took action against 13 remittance service providers and crypto exchanges, with over 50 others still being investigated regarding possible compliance issues.

Six providers were refused registration renewal on the grounds that key personnel were either convicted, prosecuted, or charged with a serious offense.

Australia has yet to pass crypto regulations. In August 2022, the ruling center-left Labor Party initiated a series of industry consultations to draft a crypto regulatory framework.

In March, the government proposed a new crypto framework regulating exchanges under existing financial services laws ahead of a federal election slated for May 3.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Continue Reading

Politics

Crush fly-tippers’ vans, government tells councils

Published

on

By

Crush fly-tippers' vans, government tells councils

The government wants councils to crush more vans used to fly-tip rubbish, as it announces a crackdown on the illegal dumping of waste.

No new funding is being given to local authorities for the initiatives, with ministers saying the seven percent raise announced in the budget can be used.

As part of the announcement, the government has also proposed that fly-tippers could face up to five years in prison, although this would require a change in the law.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed arriving in Downing Street, London, for a Cabinet meeting, ahead of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivering her spring statement to MPs in the House of Commons. Picture date: Wednesday March 26, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire
Image:
Environment Secretary Steve Reed attacked the Conservatives’ record. Pic: PA

Politics Hub: Follow latest updates

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “Councils will get much more aggressive against fly-tippers and that includes using the latest technology, things like the new mobile CCTV cameras and drones to identify, track and then seize the vehicles that are being used for fly-tipping to a yard like this and crush them.

“That’s both as a punishment for those people who are dumping the rubbish but also as a deterrent for those who are thinking about doing it.”

He added: “We’re also looking to change the law so that those rogue operators who take rubbish from someone’s home and then dump it on a nearby road – they were getting away almost scot-free under the previous government – they will now be looking at potentially five-year prison sentences.”

More on Labour

The minister claimed the fly-tipping was “out of control” under the last government.

Data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) shows local authorities in England dealt with a record 1.15 million incidents last year – a 20% increase from 2018/19.

Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said: “We’re determined to bring these criminals to justice through tough enforcement action and prosecutions.

“That’s why we support the government’s crackdown on waste criminals, which will ensure we have the right powers to shut rogue operators out of the waste industry.”

However, the Conservatives claimed that rubbish is “piling high” in areas like Birmingham as refuse workers strike against a pay and jobs offer from the Labour-run council.

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

Read more:
Gangs ‘make millions’ from waste
Village blocked by rubbish

Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Wherever Labour is in charge, waste is piling high – like in Birmingham, where Labour’s inability to stand up to their union paymasters has left rat-infested rubbish littered across the street.

“And with statistics showing that of the 50 worst local areas for fly-tipping, 72% are Labour controlled, it is clear that voting Labour gets you rubbish and rats.

“So the British public deserve real action, not this series of reheated announcements and policies already introduced by previous governments that Labour is peddling.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Under the Conservatives’ watch, local communities have been plagued by a fly-tipping epidemic.

“From overflowing bins to piles of hazardous waste, fly-tipping is blighting our landscapes, poisoning livestock on farming land and causing misery for residents.

“Enough is enough.

“The Liberal Democrats are calling for a fly-tipping fighting fund, to push for stronger local enforcement and tougher penalties for offenders.”

Continue Reading

Politics

US Senate majority leader expects stablecoin vote before May 26 — Report

Published

on

By

US Senate majority leader expects stablecoin vote before May 26 — Report

US Senate majority leader expects stablecoin vote before May 26 — Report

US Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly told Republican lawmakers that the chamber would address a bill on stablecoin regulation before the May 26 Memorial Day holiday.

According to an April 29 Politico report, Thune made the comments in a closed-door meeting with Republican senators, who hold a slim majority in the chamber. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, was introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty in February and passed the Senate Banking Committee in March.

Thune did not mention any crypto or blockchain-related bills in his public comments on US President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has signed several executive orders with the potential to affect US crypto policy, including one affecting stablecoins. Still, many of the actions do not carry the force of law without an act of Congress.

Related: $649B stablecoin transfers linked to illicit activity in 2024: Report

The proposed GENIUS bill could essentially restrict any entity other than a “permitted payment stablecoin issuer” from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States. The House of Representatives, also controlled by Republicans, has proposed a companion bill to the legislation: the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act.

Trump accused of conflicts of interest over stablecoins, crypto ventures

The president’s executive order, signed on Jan. 23, established a working group to study the potential creation and maintenance of a national crypto stockpile and a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Republican lawmakers followed by introducing the STABLE and GENIUS acts.

Trump also introduced the order before World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm backed by the president’s family, launched its US-dollar pegged USD1 stablecoin. Many Democratic lawmakers said that Trump’s ties to the firm, coupled with his political influence and position, could present an “extraordinary conflict of interest that could create unprecedented risks to our financial system” as Congress considers the two stablecoin bills.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Continue Reading

Trending