U.K. election betting scandal widens as fourth Conservative Party official investigated
LONDON — The chief data officer of the Conservative Party has taken a leave of absence, British media reported Sunday, after growing allegations that the governing party’s members used inside information to bet on the date of the July 4 national election before it was announced.
The Sunday Times and others reported that Nick Mason is the fourth Conservative official to be investigated by the U.K.’s Gambling Commission for allegedly betting on the timing of the election.
The Times alleged that dozens of bets had been placed with potential winnings worth thousands of pounds.
The reports came after revelations in recent days that two Conservative election candidates, Laura Saunders and Craig Williams, are under investigation by the gambling watchdog. Saunders’ husband, Tony Lee, the Conservative director of campaigning, has also taken a leave of absence following claims that he was also investigated over alleged betting.
Sunak’s Conservative Party has seen its support dwindle after 14 years in power, as it has struggled to overcome a series of crises and scandals.
Police said one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s police bodyguards was arrested Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrest came after the gambling regulator confirmed it was investigating “the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election.”
The growing scandal, just two weeks before the national election, has dealt a fresh blow to Sunak’s Conservative Party, which is widely expected to lose to the opposition Labor Party after 14 years in power.
Sunak said he was “incredibly angry” to learn of the allegations and said that anyone found to have broken the law should be expelled from his party.
The prime minister announced May 22 that parliamentary elections would be held on July 4. The date had been a closely guarded secret and many were taken by surprise because a vote had been expected in the fall.
Saunders, a candidate in Bristol, southwestern England, has said she will cooperate fully with the investigation.
Williams was Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary as well as a member of Parliament running for reelection on July 4. He has acknowledged that he was being investigated by the Gambling Commission for placing a 100-pound ($128) bet on a July election before the date had been announced.
Britain’s Conservative Party suffered historic local election losses, cementing expectations that the Labor Party will return to power in the general vote.
Senior Conservative minister Michael Gove condemned the alleged betting and likened it to “Partygate,” the ethics scandal that contributed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ouster in 2022.
That controversy saw public trust in the Conservatives plummet after revelations that politicians and officials held lockdown-flouting parties and gatherings in government buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
“It looks like one rule for them and one rule for us,” Gove told the Sunday Times. “That’s the most potentially damaging thing.”
Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said that “people are sick and tired of this sleaze” and that Sunak must intervene and order an official inquiry.
The Conservative Party said it could not comment because investigations are ongoing.
Hui writes for the Associated Press.
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