Tory minister defends colleague’s betting ‘joke’ with ‘loosen up’ excuse

A Tory minister has defended his colleague’s betting “joke” with an excuse about politicians being told to “loosen up” more.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride was sent out on the morning broadcast round to bat for Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, after it was claimed he boasted that he’d won £2,100 betting on the date of the General Election. Mr Jack admitted he put three wagers on the timing of the July 4 poll but denied having broken any rules.

It emerged last night he reportedly told the BBC he made more than £2,000 from betting on the date, but later dismissed the comments as a “joke”. Asked about Mr Jack saying he was joking, Mr Stride told TimesRadio: “Politicians are criticised for being too serious and out of touch with people. They need to loosen up a bit on the one hand and on the other hand, if they make a joke here or there or whatever, they’re jumped on for being too frivolous.

“Look, the important thing with Alistair, I think, is the fact, as I’ve said, the bet or bets or whatever it may have been that he placed did not occur in May. He’s very clear that he has not broken any of the rules and he’s not indeed being investigated by the Gambling Commission.”

The betting scandal erupted a fortnight ago when it emerged Rishi Sunak’s parliamentary aide Craig Williams, who is also Tory candidate , placed a bet on the date and was being probed by the Gambling Commission. On Tuesday the dithering PM finally withdrew its support from him and another Tory candidate, Laura Saunders, over alleged bets.

Russell George, a Welsh Conservative member of the Senedd, stepped back from the Shadow Cabinet after it emerged he was facing a probe by the watchdog over alleged betting on the timing of the poll. Two Tory officials from HQ – including Ms Saunders’ husband Tory party campaign chief Tony Lee and chief data officer Nick Mason – have stepped back from their duties after also being put under investigation.

Some 15 Conservative candidates or officials are being looked at by the watchdog, according to BBC Newsnight. Mr Stride admitted he did not know how many Tories would end up being dragged into the Gambling Commission investigation.

Mr Stride said a “debate” about whether it was okay for MPs or Cabinet members to place bets was needed. “My personal view, I would just say that people shouldn’t do it, but I think we should have a debate about it more broadly,” he said. “But let me be very, very clear: by saying that, I totally recognise that using inside information, as may have been the case for certain individuals in this way, is utterly wrong.”

Mr Jack, the former Dumfries and Galloway MP, who is standing down at the election, said he had in April put £20 at odds of 5 to 1 on an election being held between July and September, but that he had no knowledge of when it would be called until the day that Mr Sunak fired the starting gun on May 22

Labour was also dragged into the row on Tuesday, with the party suspending its candidate Kevin Craig after it emerged he had bet that he would lose to the Tories in the contest for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. The party is also expected to return Mr Craig’s £100,000 donation to the party which was registered by the Electoral Commission in May 2023.

In a sign of the widened scope of the Gambling Commission’s investigation, the watchdog has also passed information to Scotland Yard alleging that five officers had placed bets. Separately a police officer from Mr Sunak’s close protection team was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of misconduct in public office over an alleged bet.