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Former Conservative MP Craig Williams has admitted to cheating in a gambling scheme by placing bets on the date of the 2024 general election. Williams, 41, previously represented Montgomeryshire and worked as an aide to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before the election was announced.
According to the prosecution, Williams placed bets of £250, £100, and £22.50 on the election date, and acknowledged in court that he “used highly sensitive and confidential information.” The timing of Sunak’s election call surprised many Conservatives, who had anticipated an autumn poll. Williams was closely involved as Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary, placing him within the Prime Minister’s inner circle.
At a hearing held at Southwark Crown Court, Williams, who is from Llanfair Caereinion, Welshpool, Powys, pled guilty to one count of cheating, with three additional charges against him to be dropped upon sentencing. Prosecutor Zoe Johnson KC highlighted Williams’s privileged access to confidential discussions at Downing Street and Conservative Party headquarters about the election date. She remarked, “He has now accepted by his plea that he used highly sensitive and confidential information to place bets and to profit.”
Williams is one of 15 individuals charged following an investigation led by the Gambling Commission under “Operation Scott,” which scrutinized gambling activity by Conservative politicians and employees prior to the 2024 election. Another individual, Amy Hind, 35, has also pleaded guilty to cheating on betting the election date. She made several bets before successfully wagering £100 on a July election at 11-1 odds. While prosecutors dropped a charge against her husband, Anthony Hind, for passing information, Amy Hind awaits sentencing on 23 October. Meanwhile, Williams’s sentencing will be delayed until after the trials of his co-defendants, who mostly pleaded not guilty; their trials are scheduled for 2027 and 2028
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