Election latest: 'You are the problem': Sunak attacks David Tennant - as leaders prepare for debate (2024)

A man has been arrestedon suspicion of harassment and committing offences under the Online Safety Act following the Westminster honeytrap scandal.

This is the case where a number of MPs and parliamentary staffers received suspicious messages from unnamed senders.

In a statement, the Met Police said a man was arrested today at an address in Islington, London, and remains in custody.

The investigation by theMet's Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team began on 6 April following reporting, first published by Politico, of unsolicited messages being sent to MPs and people with links to parliament.

Over the course of its investigation, the force took statements from MPs from both the Conservative and Labour parties, and a warrant for today's arrest was granted on Monday.

By Greg Milam, chief North of England correspondent

There is a rhythm to a night at the Bolton Interchange.

People dart from arriving buses, racing across the concourse to catch departing ones. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Each rush is followed by a brief lull.

Every night, hundreds of lives intersect at the Bolton Interchange. The night-shift workers and commuters, those out on the town and those just a little bit lost.

Each one has their own story, some are happy to chat, most lose themselves in whatever is playing through their headphones.

I spent a week on the night buses. With the election looming, what the politicians are experiencing on their campaign battle buses is not what ordinary people are seeing. Theirs is a very different perspective.

There is an unmistakeable despair about the state of the country, an indifference to what the political process might do about it and a dark humour about the future. There are very few flickers of optimism.

Read Greg's full report below - and watch it on Sky News at 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, 6.30pm, and on The UK Tonight at 8pm.

Rishi Sunak has this morning defended his business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, after actor David Tennant attacked her at an awards ceremony.

The Doctor Who star laid into her position on trans and women's rights while accepting an award for being acelebrity ally at the British LGBT Awards.

He said: "If I'm honest, I'm a little depressed by the fact that acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and live their life how they want to live it as long as they're not hurting anyone else should merit any kind of special award or special mention, because it's common sense, isn't it?

"It is human decency. We shouldn't live in a world where that is worth remarking on. However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn't exist any more – I don't wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up – whilst we do live in this world, I am honoured to receive this."

Ms Badenoch defended herself on social media, labelling Mr Tennant a "rich, lefty, white male celebrity", adding: "I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls."

The prime minister has now weighed into the row in defence of his business secretary as he attempts to change the narrative from the gambling scandal engulfing his party.

Mr Sunak wrote on X: "Freedom of speech is the most powerful feature of our democracy.

"If you're calling for women to shut up and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem."

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard are in your podcast feeds with their guide to the election day ahead.

This is day 35 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss the final head-to-head debate - how have the two leaders fared through the campaign?

Also on the agenda - gamblegate, the story that won't die, and Reform going big on net zero - parliament's next big battle.

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

Since the start of May, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has been on the morning media round a whopping nine times.

As much as we at Sky News enjoy hearing from Mr Stride, there are 22 cabinet ministers - and overall, there are 125 people holding a government job.

To that end, we asked where the rest of the cabinet is, and why they aren't out in public hailing the work of the government under Rishi Sunak.

Mr Stride replied: "Well, I think there's probably a good reason why I'm sent, which is that this election is about tax and also how you're going to fund tax cuts, which is predominantly, in our case, through controlling the welfare budget.

"So I'm the secretary of state for work and pensions, and that includes the welfare budget, which funds about two thirds of the tax cuts that we're bringing in, so I'm often speaking about that."

The chancellor is responsible for the budget, and therefore taxation, but he has been speaking in public far less frequently as he fights to keep his seat in parliament.

But Mr Stride noted that he servedas the financial secretary to the Treasury for two years and has a "particular interest and expertise" in that area.

The prime minister yesterday withdrew support from two Tory candidates at the general election amid allegations they placed bets on the date of the election using insider knowledge (they both deny wrongdoing).

Asked if it was a relief action was finally taken, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said Rishi Sunak has "done exactly the right thing, which is to have conducted internal inquiries within the party to establish enough information to take a decision".

He praised the PM for having "promptly" decided to withdraw support, and said the "process has worked its way through".

Sky's Wilfred Frost noted that the Gambling Commission's investigation was first revealed two weeks ago, and the PM came under huge pressure to take action, and could have acted much sooner.

But Mr Stride said we do not know exactly what process was undertaken internally in the party to reach the decision yesterday to suspend the two candidates.

More broadly, the cabinet minister said it is "disappointing" that we are discussing the gambling scandal with the election just over a week away - although he did accept that this matters "a great deal", and said gambling and "insider dealing" is "utterly wrong and should be condemned in the strongest terms".

But he went on: "There is also, though, a decision that we're going to be taking in a matter of days now about the future governance of our country.

"And we need to be, I think, focusing on a Conservative Party that has got the economy under control, is going to be reducing people's taxes, taking that pressure off them - and a Labour Party that has not explained enough at the moment about the taxing increases we know it's going to be bringing in."

More broadly, Mr Stride said there is a "broader debate to be had about gambling, around politics and politicians' involvement in that, and to try and establish where the line should be drawn".

We've just been speaking with the work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, and we started by asking about the news that more than500 Scottish inmates, serving short-term sentences, are due to be released early to ease prison overcrowding (see previous post).

This is also a major issue in England, and Mr Stride insisted that "building more prisons in the longer-term".

He conceded there is "pressure on prison spaces", with around 1,500 remaining at present.

But he said those being released early are not a "danger to society", and the prison governor will have the final say on who is let out early.

We pushed Mr Stride on why the UK Ministry of Justice, that oversees prisons in England and Wales, is not being transparent about the number of people being released early.

He could not say, pointing out that he is the work and pensions secretary, not the justice secretary.

By Connor Gillies, Scotland correspondent

Victims are being taunted by criminals who are being released early from Scotland's prisons today under emergency plans to tackle overcrowding, Sky News has been told.

Jails across the UK are in crisis with governors in England and Wales warning they could run out of space within days.

From this morning, the SNP government in Edinburgh is allowing more than 500 Scottish inmates, serving short-term sentences, out early in a bid to tackle the issue.

Prisoners inside for under four years who have 180 days or less left to serve are being released in waves over the coming weeks across all Scottish prisons.

Sex offenders and domestic abusers are among those exempt, with governors handed a veto.

The charity Victim Support Scotland told Sky News the system will lead to reoffending.

The prison population in Scotland is almost 8,300, more than exceeding the target operating capacity of 8,007.

The Scottish Prison Service insists safety is a priority.

Read more here:

After days of furore directed at Rishi Sunak for the election betting scandal, now a Labour candidate is under investigation by the Gambling Commission for his own betting activity - and is immediately suspended.

Is this an equaliser in one of the grubbiest electoral sagas of recent elections? Quite possibly not.

There is no doubting the utter dismay in Labour HQ at the revelation that they too have a candidate caught up in the betting scandal.

It lends itself to the easy narrative that there's a plague on all politicians' houses - everyone as bad as each other.

However, if the facts are as presented, the scale of the challenge for the Tories is of a different order of magnitude to that now facing Labour.

Read Sam's full analysis here:

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

A Labour candidate has been suspended by the party after betting against himself - with the Gambling Commission launching an investigation into him.

Kevin Craig is running to become the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich - a safe Conservative seat previously held by ex-Tory Dan Poulter, who defected to Labour ahead of the election and is not standing again.

Sky News' chief political correspondent Jon Craig understands the bet was relating to the outcome of the vote in his constituency - and the candidate had actually been betting he would lose the contest.

Labour confirmed Kevin Craig had been suspended by the party - though at this late stage, he will still appear on the ballot paper with "Labour" next to his name.

It is also understood that the party will return £100,000 in donations to the businessman that he has made since Sir Keir Starmer took charge of Labour.

Read more here: