Cleverly says cabinet not involved in gambling controversy

A betting scandal surrounding the election date has led to more controversy for Rishi Sunak this week, with multiple Conservatives being investigated by the Gambling Commission following unusual betting patterns. This morning it is reported that the Tories’ chief data officer, Nick Mason, is part of the inquiry. On Sky News, Trevor Phillips asked Home Secretary James Cleverly if this was an example of his party’s ‘moral decay’. Cleverly said he would ‘not in any way defend people who placed bets on that’, but that he could not discuss details while the investigation was ongoing. He added he ‘had no reason to believe,’ any of his cabinet colleagues were involved.

Cleverly: ‘Why he picked the word crap I don’t know’

James Cleverly was also asked to respond to a recording of Conservative aide James Sunderland describing the Rwanda policy as ‘crap’. Cleverly told Laura Kuenssberg he was glad she played the whole recording, in which Sunderland goes on to say the policy would create a shockwave effect, and that a similar policy had worked well in Australia.