The Independent – Starmer taunts Sunak for not grasping the nettle in bet scandal
The Independent says Sir Keir Starmer has taken aim at Rishi Sunak’s leadership ability over the election date betting scandal, accusing the prime minister of “failing to grasp the nettle” and take action quickly enough. The paper says Starmer has made the election about character and leadership with a full-blown attack on the PM’s inability to deal with the gambling scandal.
Starmer blasts Sunak’s leadership over ‘failure to grasp the nettle’ on election betting scandal
The Labour leader’s taunts came on the day that Mr Sunak finally agreed to suspend the candidates, two weeks after the allegations first emerged. The scandal continued to deepen on Tuesday when Scotland Yard confirmed that five more police officers were alleged to have placed bets on the timing of the general election. The Met said it had been passed information on the allegations by the Gambling Commission. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-sunak-gambling-scandal-election-b2568616.html]
Julian Assange lands in Australia a free man after US plea deal
Julian Assange has arrived back in his native Australia after striking a plea deal with a US court to allow him to walk free, bringing an end a 14-year legal battle. The 52-year-old landed in Canberra on a six-hour flight from the island of Saipan, an American territory in the Pacific, where he was freed after pleading guilty to one charge of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/julian-assange-wiki-saipan-australia-deal-b2569087.html]
Forget the group stage, England must follow this example to rescue Euro 2024 campaign
As Gareth Southgate got his England players back into the dressing room, after the boos and the plastic pint cups thrown at him in Cologne, he tried to get his squad to ignore any negativity. The message, despite a dismal 0-0 draw against Slovenia, was England played better. They’re through to the last 16 while topping the group. Southgate stated England’s performance was “an improvement”. [https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/england-slovenia-euro-2024-gareth-southgate-b2568945.html]
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.