The general election betting scandal does politics as a whole a “massive disservice”, a former defence minister has said.

James Heappey, the former Tory MP, said “the whole thing sucks” and “plays to the public’s perception of politicians generally”.

He told GB News: “I think all it does is just creates that sort of weary sigh as people look at each other in the coffee queue in the morning, and does politics on the whole a massive disservice.”

His comments came after a day of fast-moving developments yesterday as the scandal deepened.

Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, last night admitted betting on the timing of the general election but insisted he had “not breached any gambling rules”, placing two bets in March and one in April.

That came after the Conservative Party withdrew its support for two Tory candidates, Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, as the Gambling Commission continued its investigation into alleged bets.

Meanwhile, Labour was dragged into the row as it suspended one of its own candidates, Kevin Craig, who put a wager on himself losing his seat. 

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