Pressure piles on Sunak as second candidate probed over betting on election date

RISHI SUNAK was under mounting pressure today over alleged betting linked to his surprise announcement of a July 4 election as investigations reached into the heart of Tory headquarters and No10.

- Jitendra Joshi

It emerged that a second Tory being investigated by the Gambling Commission — Bristol North West candidate Laura Saunders, inset, — previously worked at the campaign HQ and is married to the party’s director of campaigns, Tony Lee. The party said, as of yesterday, he was now on a leave of absence.

Police yesterday announced that an officer working as part of the Prime Minister’s personal protection team had been arrested over alleged bets that were related to the timing of the general election.