General election – latest: More Met Police officers investigated as betting scandal dominates Sunak’s campaign

Shadow minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said knife crime it is “not an exclusively London problem” and areas like Cleveland and Hertfordshire have seen cases more than double since 2015.

He says: “This is a nationwide problem that we absolutely need to, in my view, stand above the political point-scoring, and absolutely grip this problem.”

Echoing Labour’s campaign slogan, Mr Thomas-Symonds says: “You have to be both tough, in terms of the sentences for knife crime”.

He adds: “But you also have to be tough on the underlying causes as well.”

You can read Labour’s knife crime pledge below

Kwasi Kwarteng has said he feels “partially responsible” for the challenges facing the Conservative party.

But the former chancellor claimed Rishi Sunak and other Tories need to shoulder the blame for damaging poll results.

Asked if he felt responsible for the Tories’ current position, the former chancellor told GB News: “I feel partially responsible but I don’t feel responsible for leaving D-Day early, I don’t feel responsible for the Reform party which was on 4 per cent in October 2022 being on nearly 20 per cent now.

“I don’t feel responsible for the election betting scandal nor do I feel responsible for the fact that this election has happened way before anyone was expecting it.”

Shadow minister without portfolio Nick Thomas-Symonds has insisted the Office for Budget Responsibility will have a different view of the economy after the autumn budget is unveiled.

It comes as the Institute for Fiscal Studies casted doubts on the spending commitments laid out in the main parties’ manifestos.

Mr Thomas-Symonds told Times Radio: “Obviously the Government is in a very different position from us, because, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies set out, there are no specific departmental spending plans beyond March of 2025 that’s because the Government hasn’t conducted a spending review.

“We obviously can’t do that from opposition, and we’ve also been open, always that we may open the books and discover the situation is even worse than it is at the moment. We’ve never hidden from that.”

Shadow minister without portfolio Nick Thomas-Symonds said knife crime was a “nationwide” issue, Zander Butler reports.

Mr Thomas-Symonds told Sky News: “We would create young future hubs to actually identify people who would be at risk of falling into a life of crime.

“Also, we need a cross-government and whole society approach. We will chair a summit every year on this issue because it is absolutely crucial.”

Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson has said he agrees with the frustration expressed by former Olympic rower and Tory candidate James Cracknell.

Referring to the gambling scandal engulfing the Tory campaign, Mr Cracknell said in a social media video: “And if one of my teammates got caught for cheating, they’d be dead to me” and also described the party as a “shower of shit”.

Asked about the “frustration” expressed by the electorate and Mr Cracknell, Mr Tomlinson told Sky News: “That’s right, and I share his frustration. I agree with the frustration that’s being expressed, more than frustration, the anger as well.”

Home Secretary James Cleverly and Labour’s shadow minister Yvette Cooper are expected to go head to head this morning on LBC.

Nick Ferrari will host the debate on migration and security at the Breakfast show at 9am.

Michael Tomlinson has said he wanted the Gambling Commission investigations into the election betting scandal to be concluded “swiftly”.

The watchdog is looking into the claims while the Conservative Party undergoes its own probe.

The minister for countering illegal migration told Sky News: “I want this to happen as quickly as possible. I want it to happen swiftly. And I want anyone who is found to have broken the rules, to have broken the law, to be dealt with severely.”

Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker has urged Rishi Sunak to suspend Tories investigated in the betting scandal.

He told ITV last night putting a bet on when the general election would take place was “disreputable”.

The senior minister said: “I would call them up and ask them, ‘Did you do it?’ And if they did it, then they are suspended.

“But the prime minister would have to answer why he hasn’t done it, I haven’t got inside information on why the prime minister hasn’t done it.”

Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson has dodged questions on whether candidates probed over betting on the general election will be suspended.

Mr Tomlinson told Sky News Breakfast there is a “process” and the Gambling Commission is independent.

He added that there is an internal party process underway as well and it should happen “swiftly”.

The Cabinet minister claimed anyone found to have broken the rules or laws will be dealt with “severely”.

But he did not explain why the prime minister cannot take the first step and suspend the people under investigation.