The Guardian – Fifth Tory faces investigation as election betting scandal grows
A Conservative politician has become the fifth party figure to be investigated by the gambling watchdog for allegedly placing a suspicious bet on the date of the general election, The Guardian says.
Election betting: Fifth Tory investigated in growing scandal
A Conservative politician has become the fifth party figure to be investigated by the gambling watchdog for allegedly placing a suspicious bet on the general election date, as the developing scandal continued to overshadow Rishi Sunak’s campaign. The Gambling Commission has informed Russell George, a Tory member of the Welsh parliament who represents the same constituency as Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide Craig Williams, that he is part of its inquiry. [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/25/election-betting-fifth-tory-investigated-in-growing-scandal]
Julian Assange walks free after pleading guilty to US espionage charge in Saipan court
The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has walked free from a court in the US Pacific island territory of Saipan, after pleading guilty to violating US espionage law, in a deal that left him free to return home to Australia and brought an end to an extraordinary 14-year legal saga. On Wednesday, the US’s smallest and most remote federal district court accepted a plea deal reached between Assange and the US government, under terms which required him to admit guilt to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents. [https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/26/julian-assange-saipan-court-hearing-plea-deal-wikileaks-australia-us-kevin-rudd]
‘The grey zone’: how IDF views some journalists in Gaza as legitimate targets
As Israel’s offensive in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history, its military has repeatedly said it is not deliberately targeting the media. “There is no policy of targeting media personnel,” a senior official said, attributing the record number of journalists killed to the scale and intensity of a bombardment in which so many of Gaza’s civilians have died. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/25/grey-zone-how-hamas-linked-journalists-legitimate-targets]
England disappoint again but still top group after stalemate with Slovenia
It had been universally accepted that England needed a performance to reinvigorate their fans here in Germany after the toil of their opening Euro 2024 ties against Serbia and Denmark. One of the principal takeaways from a claustrophobic and emotional night was that the fans were certainly connected. [https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jun/25/england-slovenia-euro-2024-match-report]
Editorial 26 June 2024.
Many of Wednesday’s newspapers focus on the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange – who agreed to a plea deal that has seen him set free. He is en route to his native Australia ending a years-long legal battle.
Elsewhere, the betting scandal is also splashed on the papers as another Tory has been implicated in the scandal, and Labour has also found itself wrapped up in the political mess.
Labour has been out and about spreading its election messaging in this morning’s newspaper briefings – convincing readers that the party has changed since 2019 and sharing plans of how they’ll improve the NHS.
Many of the papers feature pictures of Harry Kane as England are through to the Round of 16 at the Euros – although the team’s performance has been widely panned for being flat and boring.