Tory minister who positioned election bets ‘may very well be given place in House of Lords’

Rishi Sunak has been tipped to give a peerage to a Tory minister who admitted betting on the General Election.

Alister Jack, the outgoing Scottish Secretary who stepped down as an MP, is reportedly being considered in the PM’s final honours’ list. Mr Jack has come under fire after admitting he placed three wagers on the timing of the General Election, but stressed he didn’t break any rules.

Mr Jack confirmed he had placed three bets, but the Gambling Commission is not investigating him. He may be elevated to the House of Lords in the dissolution honours’ list, it has been suggested.

But sources within the party told The Observer that pressing ahead with Mr Jack’s elevation would be “problematic”. It is expected that the controversial list will be published soon after Thursday’s General Election.

Mr Sunak is expected to face a backlash if he gives peerages to aides and advisors who oversaw the disastrous election campaign. An insider told the newspaper: “It’s just quite extraordinary that, having criticised Liz Truss for giving some of her team gongs for failure, they’re going to do the exact same thing.”

Last week it was claimed that Mr Jack had bragged about winning £2,100 by betting on the date of the election. Mr Jack is alleged to have told a reporter that he’d made the sum thanks to odds as good as 25/1. The Scottish Secretary told the BBC his remarks had been a “joke”.

Mr Jack has made clear he “did not place any bets on the date of the General Election during May – the period under investigation by the Gambling Commission”. He admitted he had placed a £20 bet at odds of 5-1 – meaning he could have won £120. Mr Jack also revealed he had “put two bets on in March of £5 each for an election to be held in May and June respectively”.

Mr Jack said in a statement: “I had no knowledge of the date of the election until the day it was called. I placed no bets in May and am not under investigation by the Gambling Commission.”

He also said: “I am very clear that I have never, on any occasion, broken any Gambling Commission rules. Furthermore, I am not aware of any family or friends placing bets. I have nothing more to say on this matter.

The Gambling Commission is investigating a string of Tory figures, including two suspended candidates, over claims they placed bets on the date of the election. Mr Sunak has been criticised for his response to the scandal.

Mr Sunak’s parliamentary aide, Craig Williams, was suspended last week alongside candidate Laura Saunders amid an investigation by the commission. Another two Tories, who work in the party’s HQ, are being probed for alleged bets and have taken a leave of absence from their roles.

The party’s chief data officer Nick Mason and the party’s campaign chief Tony Lee, the husband of Ms Saunders, are being investigated. A police officer in Mr Sunak’s close protection team was also arrested on suspicion for misconduct in public office and suspended from his post after allegedly making a bet.