A growing cast of characters, who all – bar one – have links to Rishi Sunak or the Conservative party, have been embroiled in a betting scandal that has dominated the election campaign. So far, seven political figures have been identified, with reports that more are being investigated, along with six unnamed police officers. Here is what we know:
Russell George George is the fifth Conservative to be named as being under investigation by the Gambling Commission (GC) for allegedly placing a suspicious bet on when the election would be held. He is a Tory member of the Welsh parliament, representing the same area as Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide, Craig Williams, who is also under investigation. George told the Guardian he had stepped back from his role as the Welsh Tories’ deputy chief whip until the investigation was completed.
Alister Jack The Scottish secretary is not facing an investigation by the gambling watchdog, but he admitted he placed three bets on the date of the election, one of which was successful. He insists he had no prior knowledge when the bets were made of the date on which the election would be held and that he has not breached any gambling rules. In April he made a successful bet that the election date would fall between July and September – after losing two similar bets in March. The successful punt was a £20 bet at 5/1, which would give him a return of £120.
Kevin Craig Craig is the first Labour candidate to face investigation by the GC. Unlike the others under investigation, he did not bet on the timing of the election but on an outcome. Craig, a lobbyist and Labour donor, bet that he would lose the previously safe Tory seat of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. Labour has suspended support for him and returned more than £115,000 he donated to the party and two other candidates. Craig’s lobbying company PLMR created Responsible Gambling Week, an awareness campaign for the betting industry. In a statement on X, Craig said: “A few weeks ago when I thought I would never win this seat I put a bet on the Tories to win here with the intention of giving any winnings to local charities. While I did not place this bet with any prior knowledge of the outcome, this was a huge mistake, for which I apologise unreservedly.”
Craig Williams Williams’s name will still appear on the ballot paper as the Conservative candidate for re-election in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr. However, the party withdrew support for him almost two weeks after the Guardian revealed he had placed £100 on July as the election month three days before Sunak announced the date. Williams admitted having a “flutter” on the election and said one of his betting accounts was the subject of inquiries by the GC. He apologised for the bet, which had odds of 5/1, meaning he could have made £500. After being suspended by the party he released a campaign video admitting he “committed an error of judgment, not an offence”. He asked voters to continue to support him and vowed to clear his name.
Laura Saunders Saunders, who is married to the Conservative campaign director, Tony Lee, will also still appear on a ballot paper, in her case in the safe Labour seat of Bristol North West. But the party withdrew its support for her and Williams on Tuesday, six days after the BBC named her as the second candidate to be investigated by the GC. The size and timing of Saunders’ alleged bet or bets is not known. Saunders has confirmed that she is cooperating with the commission and accused the BBC of breaching her right to privacy. She joined the Conservatives at the age of 18 and has worked for the party since 2015.
Tony Lee Lee, who is married to Saunders, was appointed as the Tories’ director of campaigning by Oliver Dowden when he was co-chair of the party. Dowden, who is now deputy prime minister, told the Conservatives’ spring conference in Blackpool in March 2022 that Lee was part of a “fantastic team” who had “masterminded” Andy Street’s successful election campaign to be West Midlands mayor the previous year. The Conservative party confirmed that Lee had taken leave of absence after it emerged he was being investigated by the GC over an undisclosed alleged bet or bets.
Nick Mason On his X account, Mason describes himself as a “data-driven insight evangelist” as well as a Tory campaigner and the party’s candidate for Jarrow in Tyneside in the 2015 election. He has been the party’s chief data officer since 2022 and on Sunday was named by the Sunday Times as the fourth Conservative to be investigated by the GC. Like Lee, he has taken a “leave of absence” from the party. He is alleged to have placed several dozen bets over an unknown period before the date of the election was announced, according to the Sunday Times. The combined winnings would have amounted to thousands of pounds, the paper said. A spokesperson for Mason said it would be inappropriate to comment while the investigation was under way, but that he denied wrongdoing.
Police protection officer An unnamed Metropolitan police officer who is part of Sunak’s close protection security team was arrested on 17 June for the alleged offence of misconduct in public office, after the force was contacted by the GC. When the matter was referred to the Met’s directorate of professional standards and the police watchdog, the officer was also removed from operational duties. The Guardian understands he is being investigated for multiple bets including some that involved stakes of more than £100. Five other police officers The GC is investigating five other officers alleged to have placed bets related to the timing of the election. They have not been arrested. In a statement the Met said: “Decisions on whether they will be subject to any restrictions will be taken in due course.” The officers are part of the royalty and specialist command, the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, and the central west basic command unit. None of them work in a close protection role. Investigations will examine whether there were any links between these five and the arrested Met officer.