Inside election betting scandal – 3 Tories probed and police officer suspended

The Tories’ General Election campaign has descended into chaos as three Tories and a police officer are probed in a betting scandal.

As Rishi Sunak’s electoral fortunes go from bad to worse, it has emerged that his party’s Campaigning Director and two Conservative candidates are being investigated by the Gambling Commission over alleged bets on the timing of the General Election. It comes after a police officer in his close protection team was arrested and suspended from duty for allegedly betting on the date of the poll.

The PM is facing calls to suspend the two candidates, with the situation described as being an example of “corruption”. The Tories have been told to come clean about whether there are other people connected to the party who are being looked into by the regulator. Labour said “no one is above the law”, as it emphasised that cheats can be jailed for up to two years under the Gambling Act.

The Mirror has broken down what’s going on as the Conservatives face fresh turmoil.

Tory campaign director – and his wife

The betting scandal, which began last week, has erupted again today after it emerged the Tory campaign chief is being probed by the Gambling Commission – as well as a Tory candidate who is understood to be his wife.

Tony Lee is being investigated by the gambling regulator alongside Laura Saunders, who is believed to be his wife. The Tories confirmed Mr Lee took “a leave of absence” from Party HQ on Wednesday, leaving the Conservatives without a campaigning director two weeks before polling day

Ms Saunders, who is the Tory candidate for Bristol North West, is understood to have most recently worked in the party’s International Division – a department of the Tory campaign headquarters which communicates with other centre right parties worldwide. Between 2015 and 2019, she reportedly worked in the operations and tours department organising campaign visits by successive Prime Ministers and Chancellors.

Rishi Sunak’s parliamentary aide

Rishi Sunak’s parliamentary aide Craig Williams was the first Tory to be publicly accused of putting a bet on the General Election date. Last week he admitted he was being looked at by the Gambling Commission after he put a £100 bet on a General Election being held in July.

Last week, he said: “I put a flutter on the general election some weeks ago. This has resulted in some routine inquiries and I confirm I will fully cooperate with these. I don’t want to be a distraction from the campaign, I should have thought through how it looked.” He apologised and said he had made a “huge error of judgement” over the alleged bet.

PM’s close protection police officer

A police officer in Mr Sunak’s close protection team has been arrested over an alleged bet on the timing of the General Election. The male officer was suspended from his role before being arrested by police “on suspicion of misconduct in public office” on Monday. He was taken into custody and bailed pending further enquiries.

The Gambling Commission last Friday informed the Metropolitan Police that it was investigating alleged bets made by a police constable from its royalty and specialist protection command in relation to the timing of the General Election. Police referred the matter to the Met’s Professional Standards directorate, as well as to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

A Met Police spokesman told the Mirror: “The matter was immediately referred to officers in the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards, who opened an investigation, and the officer was also removed from operational duties. The Gambling Commission continues to lead the investigation into the alleged betting offences, and our investigation is running in parallel to that.”

What is the law when it comes to gambling?

If confidential information is used to get an unfair advantage when betting, it may constitute an offence of cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act, which is a criminal offence. The Football Association, for example, has strict rules on using insider information for betting.

Under the Gambling Act, cheats can be jailed for up to two years. The prevention of illegal gambling is a key priority for the Gambling Commission. The regulator, under the Act, has the power to investigate whether an offence has been committed and may commence criminal proceedings. In cases where a serious criminal offence may have been committed, the Commission may pass information to the police or another body.

The Mirror understands the Gambling Commission are taking the lead in the election betting investigations, with the Met Police running a parallel investigation in relation to its serving officer, which is being led by its directorate of professional standards.

What are Labour saying?

Labour called for the two Conservative candidates to be suspended. Asked about Mr Lee taking a leave of absence, Keir Starmer told the Mirror: “It’s astonishing that we’re in this place. However many people have already been identified as potentially involved in this. I’m hearing the news that there may be more.

“Rishi Sunak just needs to take action, he needs to account for exactly who knew what. But also when you’ve got a candidate standing for election in two weeks who was involved, they’ve got to go. They’ve got to be suspended and I don’t know why he hasn’t done that. I think it is a real measure of his leadership, or lack of leadership.”

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the party’s campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said it “looks as though there is one rule for members of the Tory Party, and another rule for everyone else” as he pointed out that a police officer has been suspended for the same offence, while the party’s candidates have not.

“I urge you to gain a sense of urgency and decency about this matter, and do what is necessary both to establish how wide this scandal goes, and take immediate action against all those implicated,” he wrote. “It will speak volumes if you choose to stay silent and do nothing instead.”

What are the Lib Dems saying?

The Lib Dems have also called for both Ms Saunders and Mr Williams to be suspended. Leader Sir Ed Davey said the situation appeared to be an example of “corruption”. “The idea that you bet on something when you know the result, that is immoral, it is illegal, and I can’t believe people at the top of the Conservative Party are doing this and have allowed this to happen, he said. “This is corruption, frankly, and it needs to have a heavy hand from the top.”

Sir Ed added: “We think there should be a Cabinet Office inquiry. I think the Gambling Commission will rightly look at this. I hope they come down heavy on those people who look like – I haven’t seen the details but they look like – they’ve acted illegally and immorally.”

What’s the Tory response?

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said it would be “reprehensible” if people were using insider information to place bets. “What I can’t do is sort of get too much into the detail of the case while an investigation is going on,” he said. “But I can talk about the broad principle and you’re absolutely right, it’s reprehensible.”

He admitted it “doesn’t look great” for Mr Lee and his wife to be facing a Gambling Commission investigation, adding: “But I don’t know all the facts at the moment. I’d be loath to condemn without there being an investigation that’s been concluded.”

Meanwhile the Conservative Party X/ Twitter deleted an attack post on Labour which featured a video of a roulette wheel with the tabs reading “more tax” and “more debt”. The caption read: “If you bet on Labour, you can never win.”

Asked about Ms Saunders’s case, a Conservative spokesman said: “We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission about a small number of individuals. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.” It added on Mr Lee: “The Director of Campaigning took a leave of absence from CCHQ yesterday.”