Tory candidate facing probe over election date betting allegations threatens to sue BBC – as it happened

Laura Saunders pictured at a campaign event Photograph: Laura Saunders/X.com

7.25am BST

Friday’s politics liveblog is live at the link below – with the transcript of Starmer on Corbyn, the latest on the betting scandal and a roundup of the papers:

7.01pm BST

Early evening summary

• Rishi Sunak has become mired in a row over alleged betting on the general election date after it emerged that a second Conservative candidate and the party’s campaigns director were being looked into by the Gambling Commission. The watchdog is examining bets allegedly placed by Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate in Bristol North West, and her husband, Tony Lee, who is now on leave of absence from his job at party headquarters. In a statement issued through lawyers, Saunders said that she was cooperating with the commission’s investigation, that she had nothing further to say publicly, and that she was considering suing the BBC, which first reported the story, and other news organisations over infringement of privacy rights. (See 6.05pm.) Labour has challenged Sunak to explain why the Conservatives have not withdrawn support from Saunders and another candidate, Craig Williams, also being investigated in relation to a bet on the date of the general election. (See 5.37pm.)

• Farmers and supermarkets have accused the main political parties of ignoring the risk of severe food shortages in Britain, calling the issue a “worrying blind spot” in their general election campaigns.

• The NHS is engulfed in a summer crisis, senior doctors have said, amid severe ambulance delays, corridors crowded with trolleys and patients facing 25-hour waits in A&E units.

• The gap between tax revenue the UK government expected to raise and the amount paid annually has hit £40bn, putting extra pressure on both main parties over their pledges to crack down on tax avoidance.

• Michael Gove has suggested there is still time for the Conservatives to stage a late comeback and win the election, claiming: “We’re not in ‘Fergie time’ yet.”

That is all from me on this blog.

But we have just launched another election live blog, where I will be covering the BBC Question Time leaders’ special. It’s here.

Updated at 7.05pm BST