Key points
- Bulletin:What you need to know this afternoon
- PM reveals Tories are investigating betting scandal
- Farage attacks Johnson in defence of Ukraine war comments
- Tories and Labour accused of 'conspiracy of silence' on tax
- Mooted Sunak replacement 'focused on election'
- Sky to interview Northern Ireland political party leaders
- Live reporting by Tim Baker
Key points
- Sam Coates:Tories braced for more names in betting scandal
- Paul Kelso:Fiscal referee gives both main parties withering review
Election essentials
- Manifesto pledges:Alliance Party|Conservatives|Greens|Labour|Lib Dems|Plaid Cymru|Reform|SNP|Sinn Fein|Workers Party
- Trackers:Who's leading polls?|Is PM keeping promises?
- Campaign Heritage:Memorable moments from elections gone by
- Follow Sky's politics podcasts:Electoral Dysfunction|Politics At Jack And Sam's
- Read more:Who is standing down?|Key seats to watch|What counts as voter ID?|Check if your constituency is changing|Guide to election lingo|Sky's election night plans
Here is your afternoon bulletin.
We're into the last full week of the election campaign, with just 10 days left until polling day.
Here are the main things you need to know for this afternoon:
- Rishi Sunaksays he is not being investigated by the Gambling Commission over the betting scandal;
- He says the Conservative Party is carrying out its own investigation - and will pass its findings on to the Gambling Commission;
- The City of London Police says it has not been contacted by the commission - but will review the case if asked;
- The Liberal Democrats want the government ethics advisor to see if ministers placed bets.
- Meanwhile, economists lambasted a "conspiracy of silence" from the main parties over their tax and spending plans - read more below:
- Nigel Farage held an event in which he sought to repel attacks levelled at him over his stance on Russia;
- The Reform leader said last week the West had contributed to the invasion of Ukraine;
- He has launched a blistering attack aimed at his one-time ally Boris Johnson - highlighting a front page showing Mr Johnson holding a similar stance on Russia back in 2016;
- He called Mr Johnson the worst prime minister of "modern times":
Politics At Jack And Sam's discussed the run-in to the election in today's episode of the podcast.
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Farage 'doesn't have a point worth listening to about anything', says former army chief
Lord Richard Dannatt, the former head of the army, has been asked for his opinion on what Nigel Farage said about the conflict in Ukraine.
Mr Farage claims the West provoked Russia's invasion.
In response, Lord Dannatt told the BBC: "As far as I'm concerned, Nigel Farage doesn't have a point worth listening to about anything."
On the wider point of a potential conclusion to the war, he said it was "entirely a matter" for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to decide if negotiating with the Russians "would be a better thing to do [...] to save more lives than continue fighting".
PM insists he got timing of election right
The prime minister has said he believes he got the timing of the general election - which will take place on 4 July - right.
During a media huddle in Edinburgh, he was asked if he'd have wanted longer than the 10 days remaining to make his case.
He insisted it's "the right moment" for the country to have its say because the economy has turned a corner.
"The most important job I had when I was prime minister was to restore economic stability after what has been a really difficult few years with COVID and the war in Ukraine," he said.
"My priority was to bring inflation down, because inflation was eating into everyone’s pay packets, their savings, making everyone feel the challenges of the cost of living."
He said the UK economy grew faster than others in the G7 in the first quarter of the year.
Mr Sunak added: "That's why it's the right moment, now that we have that foundation, for the country to consider what future it wants."
Minister tipped to replace Sunak 'focused on election'
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has been touted as potential leader of the Conservative Party in the future.
And she has hinted she may run to replace Rishi Sunak if he loses the vote on 4 July.
She unsuccessfully stood to be leader in 2022 after Boris Johnson was ousted, but won the backing of powerful figures like Michael Gove.
Asked about the leadership of the party in the future, Ms Badenoch said: "We need to focus on this election.
"The choice is going to be between us or between them (Labour).
"Be afraid if it is them, is all I would say.
"And we will talk about leadership things after an election, but not before."
She said her current gig has been "the job of a lifetime".
Liberal Democrats call for ethics advisor to investigate betting
In a not entirely unprecedented move, the Liberal Democrats are calling for government to take more steps to address the betting scandal.
Daisy Cooper, the party's deputy leader, has written to Sir Laurie Magnus calling for an official probe.
Sir Laurie is the government’s ethics adviser - and led the investigation into Nadhim Zahawi that ultimately saw the minister sacked.
In her letter, Ms Cooper wrote: "If any ministers are found to have used their privileged position to place bets on the date of the election, or were indirectly involved in any way, this could amount to a clear breach of the ministerial code."
She adds: "With the general election just 10 days away, I hope you would agree that the public deserves urgent clarity and answers about the scale of this scandal and whether any ministers were involved, and if a breach of the code has occurred."
Police will investigate election betting if watchdog passes on case
Currently, the election betting scandal is being investigated by the Gambling Commission - the watchdog for gambling in the UK.
However, the City of London Police has told Sky News it would review the case if the commission decides to pass over the files.
Assistant commissioner Nik Adams, the force's lead for the election, said: "We have not been contacted by the Gambling Commission regarding an investigation into bets placed on the general election.
"However, if they conclude their investigation and decide to make a referral, we will conduct a thorough review."
The City of London force take the national lead on financial crime and similar cases.
Starmer: Sunak trying to 'kick betting scandal into long grass'
We've heard from Rishi Sunak and Nigel Farage already this hour - and now we've seen Sir Keir Starmer.
The Labour leader has been at a rally in Northamptonshire, where he gave his response to the breaking news that the Tories have launched their own investigation into the betting scandal engulfing the party.
Sir Keir isn't impressed, saying it's an attempt by the prime minister to "kick this into the long grass on the other side of the election".
He says an investigation into who had placed bets should have been launched last week and "only take half an hour".
Sir Keir says the scandal "goes to the heart of what the Tories have become", when candidates see an election as a chance to make money, and repeats his call for suspensions.
He says the "chaos, division, and failure" of the last 14 years are once again being displayed in the Conservative campaign.
Farage: I would never defend Putin
Nigel Farage is speaking at a campaign event in Maidstone, Kent.
He is trying to recover his position after the cross-party criticism he faced for saying the West provoked Russia into invading Ukraine.
Mr Farage says he would "never, ever, ever defend Putin" - and that Putin's behaviour in the war is "reprehensible".
He then attacks Boris Johnson, who he's accused of hypocrisy after the former prime minister emerged as one of the chief critics of his remarks about Vladimir Putin last week.
Mr Farage has pointed out Mr Johnson said the EU was to blame for the 2014 war in Ukraine (when Russia occupied and annexed Crimea), brandishing a newspaper front page from 2016.
'The worst PM of modern times'
Mr Farage says Mr Johnson will go down as the "worst prime minister of modern times", who betrayed an "80-seat majority" and betrayed Brexit supporters.
He says the former prime minister "pretended" to be a Conservative, but was actually a green.
The Reform UK leader then pivots to attack the Conservative Party for cutting the defence budget.
He claims "you get peace through strength" - but he will also always campaign for peace where it is possible.
Mr Farage also goes after Joe Biden for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan - which he says emboldened Russia and China.
Mr Farage moves on to the Conservative betting scandal.
He likens the Tory party to an "organised betting ring" - and jokes Rishi Sunak will announce the UK is "leaving the Gambling Commission".
PM says he is not being investigated over betting scandal - as Tories launch own probe
Rishi Sunak has been speaking to journalists on the campaign trail this lunchtime.
He reveals the Conservatives are conducting their own investigation into the betting allegations surrounding the party.
But Mr Sunak says he is not aware of any further candidates being looked into than those who were named last week - and says he himself is not being investigated.
The prime minister confirms he has never placed a bet on politics.
It comes as the Gambling Commission conducts an investigation into several bets placed on the date of the general election.
Four Tory candidates and officials are being investigated - the last one named was the party's chief data officer, Nick Mason.
Mr Sunak has not been drawn on that investigation, saying it's "independent of government" and "independent of me".
"I don't have details of their investigation," he adds.
The Tories "will act on any relevant findings or information" from their own inquiry and "pass it on to the Gambling Commission".
Starmer doesn't 'believe' forecasts that say economy won't grow
Sky deputy political editor Sam Coates has been speaking to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer this morning.
Sam questions Sir Keir on the claims made by Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that it will be hard for the next government to invest - and growth is likely to be low.
Sir Keir says: "Yes, we need to invest in our public services, and I ran one for five years, I believe in that.
"Yes, we need to grow our economy.
"I don't actually agree with these forecasts, that are premised on the basis that we cannot grow the economy, that things cannot be better than they are now.
"I'm proud that our manifesto is a manifesto for building and creating wealth, and that's the change."
Pushed on whether growth can come into the economy fast enough for Labour to enact its plans, Sir Keir says his party has been talking to investors to try to get backing for the big plans in their manifesto.
"I don't accept that nothing can get better," he adds.
