A Cabinet minister accused Labour of trying to put “undue pressure” on the Gambling Commission over its investigation into the Tory general election betting scandal.

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland Secretary, claimed Labour was trying to “lean on” the organisation.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s election campaign coordinator, wrote to the Gambling Commission at the weekend to urge it to release the names of figures being investigated. Mr Heaton-Harris said this was “pretty concerning”.

He told Times Radio: “It has said it is investigating offences in relation to the date of the election, that it is an ongoing investigation and that it won’t provide any details at this time and it is not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals concerned. And it is right that it has an investigation. It is an independent body.

“I actually think, I saw that the leader of Labour’s campaign, Pat McFadden, wrote to try and put some undue influence on the Gambling Commission over the weekend and I think that is actually pretty concerning in itself, Labour trying to lean on yet another independent body like it leant on the Speaker of the House of Commons to not have a vote on Gaza.

“I think you are beginning to see, people are beginning to see, what a Labour government would actually be like in the United Kingdom.” 

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