Just when Rishi Sunak thought his election campaign could not get any worse, it has.
The revelation that senior Tory figures close to the prime minister are under investigation for allegedly placing bets on the date of the election shortly has the potential to overshadow all of the other gaffes and controversies that have gone before.
The Guardian first reported last week that Craig Williams, Sunak’s parliamentary aide before the election was called and the Conservative candidate in Montgomeryshire, was being probed by the Gambling Commission.
He has admitted he had “a flutter” on the election date and says he “should have thought how it looks”.
The scandal intensified yesterday when the BBC revealed that one of the PM’s close protection officers had been suspended after also allegedly placing a similar bet.
It then emerged that a second Tory candidate, Laura Saunders, was also under investigation by the Gambling Commission, as was her husband, Tony Lee.
He just happens to be the party’s director of campaigns, a role he took a “leave of absence” from yesterday.
Under the 2005 Gambling Act, the misuse of inside information when betting can lead to a prison sentence of up to two years.
A Conservative spokesperson 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.”
The Tories have refused to elaborate on what “a small number of number of individuals” means, leading to speculation that more senior figures could be facing investigation by the betting watchdog.
Those rumours have only intensified since The Guardian revealed that the Betfair exchange saw a huge spike in bets on the date of the election the day before Sunak announced it outside No.10.
Excl: Here's what happens if you scrape Betfair data for bets on a July election.
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) June 20, 2024
This graph cuts off at the end of 21 May, the day before Sunak announced the election.
There's a flood of bets that day - before Rishi formally told the cabinet and stood in Downing Street. pic.twitter.com/AfKyzAbDBQ
Until now, Sunak has refused to comment on the row, saying it would be inappropriate to do so while the Gambling Commission continues its investigations.
However, he is sure to be quizzed on the controversy further tonight when he takes part in a Question Time election debate on BBC1.
Labour, meanwhile, are demanding answers - specifically on whether others are involved in the scandal.
In a letter to the PM, Pat McFadden, the party’s national campaign co-ordinator, said: “If some of your most senior colleagues felt they had carte blanche to misuse the inside information they had on the election in order to make a profit, we must ask how many others had advance access to the same information, and placed bets either by themselves, or through their friends and family?”
