Minister insists ‘no delay’ in limiting stakes amid gambling row sparked by resignation

A TORY Minister yesterday insisted there has been no stalling over plans to limit stakes on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in an ongoing gambling row.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said “it is wrong to say there has been a delay”, despite former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch quitting because she said there had been a sixmonth hold-up in the plans she was overseeing.

Ms Crouch had repeatedly said she would cut maximum stakes on FOBTs from £100 to £2 and make the change in April 2019.

She was angered by Chancellor Philip Hammond’s decision to push back the change to October 2019 and quit in protest, saying two people would take their lives per day due to gambling addiction in the interim. Speaking on the BBC’s

Mr Brokenshire stuck to the Government line, contradicting Ms Crouch’s insistence that there had been a sixmonth delay.

“What I would say is that actually we were called on to introduce these arrangements prior to April 2020 and we have brought that forward to deliver this in October 2019, recognising we need to do this, we need to bring these stakes down,” he said.

“We want to see this delivered effectively, for all the reasons Tracey identifies. But it is wrong to say there has been a delay.”

Mr Brokenshire said he regretted the resignation of Ms Crouch, whom he described “an outstanding colleague, someone who has worked very hard on this and is very passionate about the issues she believes in”.

Meanwhile, Ms Crouch said she had “no regrets” about her decision to quit, which drew applause from across the political spectrum and won the praise of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

She told reporters: “I have absolutely no regrets about my decision whatsoever. I’m perfectly comfortable with my decision.”

Asked if she had full confidence in Theresa May, she replied: “The Prime Minister has an absolutely important job to do in order to deliver on Brexit and I look forward to being a supportive member of her backbenches.”

Replying to Ms Crouch’s hardhitting resignation letter, Mrs May had earlier maintained there had been no delay in bringing forward the “important measure”.