Election 2024 latest updates: Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade blows over taxes and betting scandal – as debate is disrupted by megaphone protest

People smugglers will need bigger boats for the asylum seekers coming to Britain under a Labour government, Rishi Sunak said.

The Rwanda plan is a deterrent, you just have to listen to what the illegal migrants themselves are saying, one of them just said ‘most of us are still in France due to the fear we have about Rwanda

Another one said ‘I won’t cross the Channel until the Rwanda plan is destroyed’. If Labour win, the people smugglers are going to need a bigger boat. Don’t surrender our borders to the Labour Party.

Sir Keir Starmer replied:

Record numbers coming across the Channel and he says it’s a deterrent, there are a few hundred that will go on a flight to Rwanda, a huge expense to taxpayers. There are tens of thousands, 15,000 people have come since Rishi Sunak has been Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister has told voters not to ‘surrender’ Britain’s borders to Labour in a question about immigration.

Audience member Steve Curtis asks why the country can’t close the borders as the UK is an island.

Mr Starmer claims the biggest threat to the borders is the ‘very many people arriving by small boats’ across the English Channel but Mr Sunak accuses him of having no plan against mass arrivals.

Mr Sunak later says Labour would make the UK the ‘soft touch on Europe’.

Read more on the election protest as viewers say tonight’s debate between Rsihi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer is ‘unwatchable’.

Rishi Sunak pointed to a media report that the shadow chief secretary to the treasury Darren Jones said Labour’s net zero plans would cost ‘hundreds of billions’.

Just go online, go to the Telegraph website, because we’ve just found a recording they’ve put out there from the deputy chancellor from the Labour Party admitting that their plan would cost hundreds of billions of pounds.

‘Do not surrender to their tax rises,’ he added.

The BBC moderator jumped in to explain that Mr Sunak was referring to an article saying that it had obtained a recording of Darren Jones saying decarbonising the economy would cost hundreds of billions of pounds.

Yes, it is absolutely right that we want to get investors to come in alongside that Government money. It won’t surprise you we’ve been talking to global investors for the best part of two years to say ‘if we put down this amount of money in our manifesto, will you come alongside it and put down many more billions of pounds so that in partnership we make the change that we need?

Audience members applauded Sir Keir Starmer after he told Rishi Sunak he was ‘out of touch’ during a question about encouraging people back to work

The leaders are asked a question by Beverley McKenzie, who says she’s worked all her life but had to stop due to illness.

She asks both men how will candidates ensure we’re not hit by benefit sanctions?

Mr Starmer begins his answer before he is cut off by Mr Sunak who accuses him of voting against his plans to reform the welfare system such.

Mr Starmer then attacks the PM by telling him if he listened to people around the country more then he ‘wouldn’t be so out of touch’ – which receives a round of applause.

The sound of a protest outside the BBC debate venue could be heard in the background as Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer spoke.

Pro-Palestine protesters were among those standing outside the Nottingham Trent University building.

Mishal Hussain, the presenter, confirmed the demonstration was taking place to the audience.

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of ‘hiding behind a process’ by not immediately suspending Conservative candidates following reports of election betting.

The Labour leader insists Mr Sunak could have taken action two weeks ago but only did so after he was forced by others.

Mr Sunak insists leadership is about honesty and accuses Mr Starmer of being dishonest about Labour tax plans.

First question of the night is from a woman called Sue who asks both leaders how they will restore trust in politics given the recent election betting scandal.

Mr Sunak is first to answer and says he was furious about the reports and that he has suspended two candidates.

Mr Starmer says there is too much self-entitlement in politics but then launches into the first attack on the Prime Minister insisting he suspended a Labour candidate ‘within minutes’ where as Mr Sunak was ‘bullied’ into taking action.

We are just minutes away from the final TV election debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

Stick with our coverage for live updates and reaction.

We are now just 15 minutes away from the final TV election debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

And it appears the campaign is literally hotting up with politicians jousting in boiling conditions with temperatures soaring to 27C in Nottingham.

Wes Streeting, who is in the spin room tonight for Labour, was overheard saying he’s ‘broadcasting live from an incinerator.’

If the Conservatives social media account is anything to go by we suggest tax will be at the top of Rishi Sunak’s agenda tonight as he takes the fight to Sir Keir Starmer.

The party has launched somewhat of a blitz of attack ads throughout the day suggesting Labour will raise taxes if it wins the election.

Here are just a few examples of posts that have been shared today.

James Cleverly is appearing to remain upbeat about the Tories election hopes as he insisted ‘shocks happen in politics’ despite polls suggesting none other than a landslide Labour victory.

Speaking to Sky News, the Home Secretary said

Of course we want to form a government, but if the British people say no to that, we’ve actually got to make sure that we protect them from the ineptitude and dishonesty of a Labour government.

We are campaigning to get as many Conservative MPs as possible.

Mr Cleverly will be among politicians in the spin room tonight so expect to hear more from him after the debate.

The Labour leader is in the building and so is the Prime Minister

Sir Keir Starmer shook hands with Director-General Tim Davie as he arrived at Nottingham Trent University for the BBC debate.

He was followed by Mr Sunak who was also greeted by Mr Davie before heading inside the building.

Nigel Farage’s Reform party have closed the gap with the Conservative party to less than two points with just under one week to go until a potentially disastrous general election for the Tories.

Mr Farage’s outfit are now less than two points off the Conservatives, according to MailOnline’s poll of polls. One recent survey even suggested Reform had taken a slight lead over the Tories.

Labour has maintained its near 25-point lead, with seat-by-seat analyses predicting a majority for Sir Keir Starmer as big as 240 – enough to secure a landslide bigger than Tony Blair’s in 1997.

Read MailOnline’s ultimate poll of polls here:

The polls have provided miserable reading for the Conservatives throughout the election campaign and even further back than that.

And this one is no different as a new poll released tonight has found more than a third of the public say the election betting scandal is the story they have heard most about recently.

As many as 15 Conservatives may be under investigation by the betting watchdog over money put on the date of the election, it was claimed today.

While Labour has also been dragged into the scandal after it suspended one of its candidates for placing a bet on him losing his constituency.

Before we look ahead to tonight’s action, let’s take a look at the goings on in Westminster today.

Here are just some of the stories published by our political reporters today.

See the video below for a full election round-up:

The battleground for the final TV showdown between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer is set in Nottingham Trent University.

Rumours spread across campus this week following the sudden closure of two major buildings at the university.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Edward Peck told the Nottingham Post:

They took up the building last Friday evening, so our colleagues haven’t been able to use it for three or four days.

Of course, we had to be very tight lipped about why we suddenly closed our major buildings. Some interesting rumours started to emerge about why these buildings closed.

Most of our colleagues didn’t work out what it was until very, very late, which is great because it is a major security operation for the BBC and the local constabulary. We just played our part by keeping shtum. It’s been a fantastic challenge.

BBC journalist Mishal Husain is tasked with performing the role of referee during tonight’s debate in Nottingham.

The Today presenter and newsreader is an experienced operator in the format, having already hosted a debate involving seven political leaders and senior representatives on June 7.

The 51-year-old was not meant to be involved tonight but stepped in when her colleague Sophie Raworth fractured her ankle during the London Marathon.

Speaking to BBC before the debate, Ms Husain said:

I see the role as a privilege, but I know it won’t be easy and there have been times I’ve wished someone else was at the helm and I could watch from my sofa. But those moments pass.

These events come around rarely and have a very special quality – at their heart is democracy unfiltered, where people can speak directly to those who have power and those who seek it.

MailOnline’s Political Editor James Tapsfield reports Rishi Sunak is gearing up for the critical final TV election debate tonight as he struggles to avert a Tory meltdown.

The PM will face off against Keir Starmer on BBC One with barely a week left until the country goes to the ballot boxes.

The primetime head-to-head clash in Nottingham is seen as Mr Sunak’s last major opportunity to revive his fortunes after a nightmare campaign.

Tonight’s debate in Nottingham is the second head-to-head debate between Mr Sunak and Mr Starmer with the first broadcast by ITV on June 4 in Salford.

Mr Sunak was declared the winner in a snap poll following that encounter which saw both men interrupt one another forcing ITV host Julie Etchingham to intervene.

Sir Keir was widely considered to have performed better than his counterpart during the Sky News election event which saw both men take questions from political journalist Beth Rigby and members of the audience.

The Labour leader agreed to only two head-to-head debates at the start of the election campaign despite Mr Sunak challenging him to face him once a week, meaning six separate occasions.

The leaders also appeared at an event for Sun readers on Monday.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the final TV debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

With the country heading to the polls this week, the showpiece event live on BBC marks a final opportunity for each leaders to attract voters and inflict damage on one another.

With Mr Sunak flagging in the polls, he will be desperate for a gamechanger tonight as he seeks to revive the fortunes of the Conservative campaign.

Follow our live blog for updates from throughout the debate plus reaction and analysis from Nottingham.

To watch the debate tune into on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 8.15pm or you can also listen on BBC Radio 4.