The UK prime minister has refused to comment on whether he told his parliamentary aide about the date of the general election, following the withdrawal of support for Conservative Party candidate Craig Williams after he admitted placing a bet on the election date. The Metropolitan Police has disclosed that at least seven of its officers are currently under investigation for betting on the election date, including a royalty and specialist protection officer on bail with restricted duties for suspected misconduct in public office. However, the head of the Gambling Commission, which is conducting an investigation alongside the Met, has refused to disclose the names of suspects in order to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigations.
During a campaign visit to Derbyshire, the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has declined to comment further on the investigations into the election betting scandal. Sunak expressed anger at the allegations and insisted that anyone who had broken the rules should be subject to the full force of the law. In addition to the suspension of Craig Williams and another Conservative candidate Laura Saunders, the Labour Party has suspended candidate Kevin Craig, who is being investigated for betting against himself in the election.
It has also been reported that a senior Conservative placed an £8,000 bet that he would lose his seat, although Sir Philip Davies has neither confirmed nor denied the claim, according to the Sun, insisting that he had not done anything illegal. The latest statements from the Met and the Gambling Commission suggest that cheating alone will be investigated by the betting industry regulator, but that the Met’s specialist crime command will be called in for more serious offences such as misconduct in public office.
Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin has said that the Met and the Gambling Commission have agreed on a joint approach to investigations, while Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes has said that his enforcement team is “focused on an investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the General Election.” Russell George, a Conservative politician in the Welsh Parliament, is also facing inquiries from the regulator and has stepped back from his frontbench role. Up to 15 Conservative Party candidates and officials are reputedly being scrutinised by the commission, according to BBC Newsnight
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