Senior Tory son of ex-Doncaster mayor 'bet £8,000 on losing his seat at election'

Sir Philip Davies neither confirmed nor denied the wager, first reported by the Sun, but rejected suggestions he had done "anything illegal".

Sir Philip, who has been the Tory MP for Shipley since 2005 and is the son of the former Doncaster mayor Peter Davies, said he expected to lose the seat on 4 July.

He is defending a 6,242 majority in the West Yorkshire constituency.

Sir Philip said it was "nobody's business" whether he placed the bet or not.

He said: "What's it got to do with you whether I did or didn't. I hope to win. I'm busting a gut to win. I expect to lose.

"In the 2005 election, I busted a gut to win. I expected to lose. I had a bet on myself to lose in the 2005 election, and my bet went down the pan."

He added: “And if anyone’s alleging I’ve done anything illegal, they’re very welcome to allege it, but I’m afraid I haven’t.”

Mr Davies comes from a bookmaking family with his mother and father both previously involved in running betting shops in Doncaster.

The report about Sir Philip came after several parliamentary candidates were accused of placing bets surrounding the date or outcome of the election.

Earlier this week, the Conservatives withdrew support from Craig Williams and Laura Saunders who are both being investigated by the Gambling Commission.

Russell George, a Conservative in the Welsh Parliament, is also facing inquiries and has "stepped back" from his frontbench role.

Meanwhile, Labour suspended Kevin Craig as its candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich after learning he had placed a bet on losing his bid to become an MP.

The 52-year-old is the son of Peter Davies, who served as mayor of Doncaster between 2009 and 2013.

Full list of candidates in Shipley

Independent - Nagbea

Reform UK - Simon Dandy

Conservative - Philip Davies

Labour - Anna Dixon

The Yorkshire Party - Will Grant

Workers Party of Britain - Waqas Khan

Christian Peoples Alliance - Darryl Morton-Wright

Liberal Democrat - Graham Reed

Social Democratic Party - Paul Shkurka

Green - Kevin Warnes