Sunak Accused Of Not Taking Action On 'Ethics Breaches'

Rishi Sunak has been accused of eroding the public’s trust in politics by failing to order investigations into more than a dozen potential breaches of strict ethics rules during his time as prime minister.

- KATE DEVLIN

The Liberal Democrats say he presided over 17 possible violations of the ministerial code in 18 months, none of which were referred to his ethics adviser.

The accusation comes as the Conservative Party’s election campaign is embroiled in a betting scandal. The row deepened late on Tuesday when a cabinet minister revealed he had placed bets on the date of the general election, Scotland secretary Alister Jack denied he had broken any rules, but said he put three wagers on the timing of the 4 July poll, becoming the latest of seven politicians and officials to be drawn into the controversy.

Earlier Sir Keir Starmer took aim at Mr Sunak’s leadership ability over the betting scandal, accusing the prime minister of “failing to grasp the nettle” and take action quickly enough.