British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure as a fifth member of the Conservative party has been found to have placed bets on the date that the snap election was set: July 4, the Guardian reported June 23. The bettors allegedly knew when the date had been set before it was announced May 22.
On June 25, Sunak suspended two candidates who are being investigated for being a part of the gambling circle.
Sunak has dealt with new revelations almost every day. Labor party leaders contacted the Gambling Commission’s CEO Andrew Rhodes June 23 demanding it reveal all the names of those being investigated, saying that it was “casting a shadow” over the election.
The Commission has been quiet about who it is investigating. It issued this statement: “This is an ongoing investigation, and the Commission cannot provide any further details at this time. We are not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals involved in this investigation.”
Two weeks ago the Guardian sparked the scandal when it revealed that Sunak’s close parliamentary aide, Craig Williams, was being investigated for wagering £100 with a bookmaker on the date of the election three days prior to the PM’s surprise announcement. It was widely assumed that the election would be in the fall.
Williams told the Guardian that he “put a flutter on the general election some weeks ago” and called his bet three days before the announcement a “huge error of judgment,” but added that he didn’t think what he did was “an offense.”
Besides Williams, Conservative candidate Laura Saunders and her husband, Tony Lee, the Conservative party campaign director and Nick Mason, the Tory data officer have been identified.
On June 25, the BBC revealed the fifth, Russell George, a Conservative Member of the Welsh Parliament. The Labor, Plaid Cymru and Reform parties have demanded George’s suspension.
George issued this statement: “I have stepped back from the shadow cabinet while the investigation is ongoing. I have done this as I do not wish to be an unnecessary distraction to their work.”
In addition, a so-far unnamed London police officer who is part of the prime minister’s security team, was arrested June 17 in connection with the investigation.
Party support for Williams and Saunders has been withdrawn pending the results of the investigation. They will remain on the ballot and if elected would be independents.
Another paper investigating the scandal, the Sunday Times, reported that Mason had made dozens of wagers prior to the Sunak announcement. Each bet was for less than £100. Cumulatively that would have netted him thousands of pounds. Mason has denied wrongdoing.
So far the police officer is the only person to have been arrested. Lee and Mason have taken leaves of absence.
Labor party national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden is calling on the Commission’s Rhodes to “make available the widest possible information about how wide the circle spreads.” His letter argued that it was in the public interest to publicize the other targets of the investigation.
He also wrote, “There will be particular interest in whether any government ministers bet on the date of the election before it was called.”
Following the Guardian’s big reveal about Williams, hundreds of bets on the election were referred to the Commission, but only a few were flagged as “politically exposed.”
Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, interviewed by LBC Radio, commented that consistency demanded suspension or some kind of disciplinary measure. “You’ve got employees and I’m sure there’s a mechanism which could allow their suspension, you’ve got candidates on the ballot paper – so it may be a matter for the whip to look at it once they’ve been elected and whether they take the Conservative whip, that might be a way to enforce discipline once elected.”
Before Sunak withdrew support from the two candidates, former Conservative MP and party whip Anne Milton had called for that.
“Suspension is the right thing to do while people are investigated,” she said. “It’s harsh on people, if the allegations are found not to be true, but that is what would happen in any other sphere of work.”
Leveling up Secretary Michael Gove calls the scandal similar to the Partygate scandal, in which public officials, including a prime minister, flouted Covid rules against social gatherings: “It looks like one rule for them and one rule for us … That’s the most potentially damaging thing.”
Another rival party, the Liberal Democrats, urged the prime minister to launch an official inquiry. They too have compared the issue to Partygate.
Reportedly, about 40 people knew the date of the election before it was announced. An investigation would undoubtedly focus on who may have had access to privileged information, as well as who was connected to them.
According to the BBC, the Commission is requesting betting companies share information about anyone who made a bet of £20 or more on the election. One method will be to find “digital fingerprints” on social media to indicate who knows who.
BBC Newsnight reported that as many as 15 Conservative candidates and officials are being investigated by the Commission.
Meanwhile, Conservative cabinet minister Alister Jack, who is the Scottish Secretary, told the BBC he put three bets on the date of the general election several weeks before the announcement. One successful bet was that the election would be between July and September. However, he lost two similar bets earlier in the year.
