All bets off on trust for Tories as gambling scandal engulfs campaign

The Conservatives are facing electoral meltdown after the scandal over betting on the election date engulfed the party’s top campaign team.

The party admitted its director of campaigning, Tony Lee, had “taken a leave of absence” hours after it was revealed that his wife, Laura Saunders, was being investigated by the Gambling Commission. Ms Saunders is the Tory candidate for Bristol North West and has worked for the party since 2015.

With the party’s electoral hopes in freefall, the forced departure of a senior campaign figure just two weeks before the polls open could not have come at a worse time for Rishi Sunak.