Chris Page
Reporting from Belfast

Image source, PA Media

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland - which is neither unionist nor nationalist - is defending one seat in the general election and is targeting at least two more.

In recent years, it has roughly doubled its electoral support to become the third biggest party in the devolved Stormont Assembly.

The manifesto calls for a new funding formula for Northern Ireland, which would increase the amount of public money available to local ministers. Alliance also wants the next Westminster government to change the cross-community voting system which operates in the power-sharing political institutions at Stormont.

Party leader Naomi Long, who is currently the devolved justice minister, says the current rules led to the “politics of ransom” which has left NI with no devolved government for five out of the last seven years.

Phil Sim
Reporting from Midlothian

The SNP's Mairi McAllan - a Scottish government minister due to start her own maternity leave next month - has been visiting a playgroup in Midlothian.

Childcare has been a key focus for the party at Holyrood, with policies from the "baby box" to 1,140 hours of funded care making up part of the SNP's offer to voters.

The party's manifesto commits to increasing maternity pay for new mums to 100% of their average weekly earnings for the first 12 weeks.

Somewhat confusingly, the printed version says the minimum pay for the following 40 weeks should be £150 per week - which is actually less than the current statutory minimum. McAllan insisted this was a mistake, and that the current statutory weekly pay of £184 would be the baseline. Her party is definitely not proposing to cut entitlement.

Over to the Lib Dems now, whose leader Ed Davey's been building houses for insects in Sheffield today while campaigning on the Lib Dems' pledge to build "150,000 new social homes every year".

He claims Lib Dem councils have a good record in social housing, and says his wife is in charge of the largest council homebuilding programme in Kingston for over 40 years.

His party's manifesto also promises to spend £300m in the next Parliament on tackling potholes. Davey says he would take money out of the current roads budget for that. "By being really prudent... we could tackle the pothole epidemic in our country."

Iain Watson
Political correspondent, in Yorkshire

Sir Keir Starmer was meeting apprentices at a construction site in Yorkshire as he tried to rebuild the so-called red wall - yes, almost literally - of traditionally Labour supporting seats which have swung to the Tories in recent years.

He’s come here to underline his message about changing the current planning system to encourage more housebuilding.

I'm told this isn't formally green belt land - which is defined as an area of land around an urban area protected from development - but it is set in green fields.

Image source, PA/Jane Barlow

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie says the party would put compassion at the centre of its economic strategy.

Speaking at the launch of the party's manifesto, Harvie says the party would "immediately end the benefit cap", which he describes as "arbitrary and cruel".

He goes on: “We would scrap the bedroom tax, and abolish the abhorrent two child limit, which makes women and children pay the brunt of Westminster’s ideological obsession with austerity.

"And we would make sure everyone is guaranteed a minimum income. A social security net that ensures that everyone can have a good standard of living."

Read more here.

Johanna Chisholm
Live reporter

After that flurry of breaking news, we're going pull away for a moment to catch you up on the campaign trail.

We can also now bring you the latest from the Bank of England, which has just held interest rates at 5.25% for the seventh time in a row.

This comes despite inflation hitting the central bank's target level of 2% for the first time in three years yesterday - for more coverage on that, you can follow our separate live blog over here.

Do stick with us as we continue to navigate the many lines that have been developing over the morning. For now though, let's go north of the border where the Scottish Greens have been unveiling their election manifesto.

Image source, Getty Images

A string of betting allegations among Conservative Party candidates have made headlines in recent days. Wondering how we got here? Here's a timeline:

• 22 May: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprises many in Westminster - including some in government - by calling a general election on 4 July, months earlier than many had expected
• 12 June: It emerges that Conservative candidate Craig Williams - who was an MP in Parliament since 2015 and served as an aide to Sunak until recently - is under investigation over a bet he placed on the timing of the general election
• 13 June: Williams tells the BBC the £100 bet was a "huge error of judgement"
• 19 June: At around 17:00, the BBC reveals a police officer in Sunak's personal security detail has been arrested and suspended over allegations he placed a bet on the timing of the general election
• 19 June: Hours later, it emerges a second Tory candidate, Laura Saunders, is being looked into by the Gambling Commission over claims she placed a bet on the election date
• 20 June: Earlier today, we revealed that Saunders' husband Tony Lee - who is the Conservative Party's director of campaigning - is also being looked into over an alleged election bet and has taken a leave of absence from his role within the party

There have already been calls for Sunak to suspend the candidates involved in this row - scroll back to earlier posts for more on that. We'll continue to bring you coverage of this developing story throughout the day.

Daniel Sandford
Home affairs correspondent

The offence of Cheating is defined in Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005.

This says that someone commits an offence if they cheat at gambling or do anything to assist someone else to cheat at gambling. It does not matter if the person who cheats actually wins anything.

Usually the Gambling Commission investigates and prosecutes offences under the Gambling Act itself. The maximum sentence for cheating in England and Wales is two years in prison, though the penalty can be much less than that.

Cheating at gambling can be most easily defined as removing the element of chance or randomness, and this is why betting with insider knowledge can be regarded as cheating.

Earlier the Liberal Democrats also called on the Conservative Party to suspend their candidate Laura Saunders.

Saunders - a long-standing party employee who is running in Bristol North West - is being looked into by the Gambling Commission.

Before the BBC subsequently revealed her husband, the party's director of campaigning Tony Lee, is also being looking into, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper had this to say:

"Rishi Sunak must find his backbone and suspend Laura Saunders from the Conservative party whilst this investigation is ongoing."

Saunders - the second Tory candidate to be scrutinised over alleged betting claims in recent weeks - has not responded to the allegations.

The other candidates running in Bristol North West include:

• Liberal Democrats, Caroline Gooch
• Labour, Darren Jones
• Reform UK, Scarlett O'Connor
• Green Party, Mary Page
• Social Democratic Party, Ben Smith

For a full list of candidates running in the 2024 general election, click here.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said Conservative candidate Laura Saunders, who is being looked into over a bet relating to the timing of the general election, should be suspended.

He told reporters: "This candidate should be suspended and it's very telling that Rishi Sunak has not already done that.

"If it was one of my candidates they'd be gone and their feet not have touched the floor."

He made the comments shortly before the BBC revealed her husband Tony Lee, the Conservative Party's director of campaigning, is also being looked into by the Gambling Commission over betting claims.

Chris Mason and Laura Kuenssberg

The BBC can reveal that the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning Tony Lee is also being looked into by the Gambling Commission over an alleged bet relating to the timing of the general election.

The BBC reported earlier this morning that Lee – who, we understand, took a leave of absence from his job yesterday afternoon – is married to the Conservative candidate who is also being looked into by the betting industry regulator.

Laura Saunders, the party’s candidate in Bristol North West has worked for the Tories since 2015.

Image source, Laura Saunders/X

She is married to Lee. It is not known when the bet she placed was made or for how much money. Nor is it known when Lee placed a bet and for how much money.

Laura Saunders and Tony Lee have been approached for comment by the BBC and have not replied.

A Conservative Party spokesman told the BBC: “We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission about a small number of individuals. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.”

Labour's campaign director Pat McFadden has written to Rishi Sunak about the "growing scandal" over alleged betting from people linked to the Conservative Party and Downing Street on the timing of the general election.

He has called on the prime minister to suspend candidates Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, who are both being looked into by the Gambling Commission over betting claims.

A police officer serving with Sunak's close protection team has also been arrested and suspended pending an investigation into alleged betting on the election date.

In his letter, McFadden says it is wrong that the two Tory candidates are being allowed to stand for the party, while a serving police officer facing similar accusations has been suspended from duty.

He goes on: "The other major question to be addressed is how wide this scandal goes.

"If some of your most senior colleagues felt they had carte blanche to misuse the inside information they had on the election in order to make a profit, we must ask how many others had advance access to the same information, and placed bets either by themselves, or through their friends and family?"

He calls on the prime minister to show a "sense of urgency and decency about this matter, and do what is necessary both to establish how wide this scandal goes".

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Tony Lee, the Director of Campaigning at the Conservative Party, has taken a leave of absence, a party spokesperson has told the BBC. He left the campaign yesterday.

His wife, Laura Saunders, is the Conservative candidate being looked into by the Gambling Commission over a bet relating to the timing of the general election.

Saunders has been approached for comment by the BBC and has not replied.

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Now to Edinburgh, where the Scottish Greens are launching their election manifesto.

The party is pledging what they've labelled a green new deal and a green economy to fast-track Scotland towards net zero.

The party says it would fund this programme by increasing taxes on the wealthiest.

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

Image source, PA Media

As we've been hearing throughout the morning, Labour and the Conservatives have been taking each other to task over their respective housing policies, focusing largely on how the other side has failed to match their own commitments.

The Conservatives have pledged to permanently abolish stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland for first-time buyers on homes of up to £425,000. They argue getting on the housing ladder would cost more under Labour from next April.

With the average price of a first-time buyer home in England, Wales and Scotland currently at £236,000 , analysts say this is primarily an issue for more expensive areas.

Labour, meanwhile, says the Tories have delayed or watered down promises to tenants, such as the proposed no-fault eviction ban in England.

The party offers more ambitious plans for improving the energy efficiency of rental homes, which it says will cut energy bills - but charities have raised concerns over the quality of insulation fittings in previous schemes.

And to wrap up his interview at the Times CEO Summit, Jeremy Hunt is asked what he would do if he loses his seat at next month's general election.

"I'm not expecting to lose soon," he says.

But, in that situation he would "want to be in public service", Hunt says, "whatever format that takes".

Hunt's time in the hot seat has ended, but we'll be coming back to the Times summit in a little over an hour, when Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves joins Steven Swinford for some grilling.

Image source, The Times CEO summit/PA

Talking about the rise of Reform UK in the polls, Hunt says his argument to voters planning to vote for that party is that then you will "get a Lib Dem MP".

He says voting for that party would lead to "fewer" MPs from the centre-right.

• How do the various parties compare in the latest polls? You can find out more by reading our poll tracker here

Moving on to the economy, Jeremy Hunt tells the summit that he believes the UK has been a "brilliant place for investment for some time".

Industries growing the fastest across the globe are currently "very strong in the UK" too, he says, citing investment in the technology, AI and the life sciences sectors.

One thing that needs to be considered is "how to increase the growth rate", and there are "big opportunities to do so", he says.

Hunt is then asked about the concerns that many Tories have expressed over what is being called by some a Labour "super majority".

The chancellor says politics is a lot harder than running a business - which he reminds the audience, he has done in the past - as there is a "lot more scrutiny and a lot more trade-offs".

An "unchecked majority" would mean it is "much easier to play to your instincts on things rather than compromises".

He expresses his concerns that a large Labour majority would potentially give the vote to 16-year-olds, which could give them a majority in the Commons for some time to come.

• You can read more about Hunt's thoughts on the election campaign here.

Image source, The Times CEO summit

We can now bring you some lines from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's sit down at the Times CEO Summit, where he's speaking with Steven Swinford - the Times' political editor.

He is first asked about the current situation for the Conservatives in the general election - his seat, South West Surrey (now the new seat of Godalming and Ash) he says is too close to call - adding that a lot of his constituents have been mobile voters during his time in Parliament.

As for the party more widely, he thinks it will be "tough" but that the Tories can do "a lot better than the polls are suggesting".

The other candidates running in Godalming and Ash include:

• Reform UK, Graham Drage
• Liberal Democrat, Paul Follows

• Green, Ruby Tucker
• Labour, James Walsh
• Women's Equality Party, Harriet Williams

For a full list of candidates running in the 2024 general election, click here.