Rishi Sunak snaps and warns journalist ‘simply watch out’ in heated alternate

The ongoing betting scandal has dogged Rishi Sunak’s general election campaign – and his ‘anger’ boiled over in a heated exchange with one journalist.

After almost two weeks of dragging his feet, Mr Sunak has finally withdrawn his support for his parliamentary aide Craig Williams, who is standing to be MP in Montgomeryshire & Glyndwr and admitted to having a ‘flutter’ on the timing of the election. Laura Saunders, who is standing for Bristol North West while being investigated by the Gambling Commission, has also been dropped.

A total of six police offers are now reportedly being probed by the Commission over allegedly betting on the date of the General Election, as well as four Tories. The latest development comes as a police officer from Mr Sunak’s close protection team was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and suspended from his role last week.

As pressure mounted on the PM to take further action on the allegations, he appeared to lose his cool during a fiery interview with the Sun’s political editor Harry Cole, aired on Monday night.

The journalist said of the probe: “You promised professionalism, integrity, [and] accountability when you were the new broom to come in and fix the Tory woes when you took [over] Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. How does this stack up integrity?”

Mr Sunak stumbled his words before Cole pressed further, adding: “They felt able to go down the bookies as soon as you let them know that there was an election coming? I mean, who are you employing?”

Things got even more heated when the sinking Prime Minister issued the journalist with a warning. Looking visibly exasperared, he said: “Harry, just be careful. There are independent enquires ongoing,” before taking a deep pause. “Those haven’t concluded. They are being done by very serious bodies, the Gambling Commission and the police.”

The seemingly irate Tory leader confirmed his party has been conducting its own internal inquires, “parallel” to the police and Gambling Commission investigations. He said: “These are very sensitive matters. They have to be done in a way that doesn’t compromise the integrity of police and other investigations.

“But i’ve been crystal clear. If anyone has broken the rules, not upheld the standards I would expect, then they will be held to account. They should face the full consequences of the law and they will be booted out of the Conservative party,” he added.

The presenter refused to back down and delivered a searing blow on the PM’s dillydallying. He said: “Can you see what this looks like to readers, to voters, to the public? It looks like the last days of Rome, it’s nicking the candlesticks on the way out isn’t it?”

Taken aback by the grilling, Mr Sunak said: “As I said, I was as angry as anybody when I learnt about these things. Course I am,” to which the journalist replied: “I think the voters are probably angrier”.

Viewers were gobsmacked by the exchange, as one wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Sunak gets rather snappy warning Cole to be careful”. In response to the journalist’s candlestick jibe, another said: “He really scolded him with that one, it’s all bloody true though.”

And a third added: “The Great Betrayal: A not so subtle threat by Sunak who is clearly tetchy discussing what has been going on around him.”

Questions have been raised on why it’s taken so long for the PM to act, as Labour leader Keir Starmer said in response to today’s development: “Why didn’t that happen a week ago?”

Speaking to journalists in a school in Kettering on Monday, he said: “What we need is leadership from the Prime Minister, he should have suspended these candidates. I want to ensure that if we win the election, we return politics to service. I think we’ve had too much self entitlement. Nothing is better evidence of that than politicians whose first instinct when they know about the General Election is not what can we do for the country but how can I make some money?”

Meanwhile, Labour’s Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth said of today’s news: “It is yet another example of Rishi Sunak’s staggeringly weak leadership that it has taken him nearly two weeks to see what was obvious to everyone else. The Conservatives who sought to line their own pockets by betting on the election date are not fit to be candidates for parliament.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “As a result of ongoing internal enquiries, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as Parliamentary Candidates at the forthcoming General Election. We have checked with the Gambling Commission that this decision does not compromise the investigation that they are conducting, which is rightly independent and ongoing.”