Sunak aide admits placing bet on general election

A senior aide to Rishi Sunak has admitted he is being investigated by the Gambling Commission after reportedly placing a bet on the date of the general election.

Tory candidate Craig Williams, who was the prime minister's Principal Private Secretary in the last Parliament, said he would cooperate with the probe.

In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "I've been contacted by a journalist about Gambling Commission inquiries into one of my accounts and thought it best to be totally transparent.

"I put a flutter on the general election some weeks ago. This has resulted in some routine inquiries and I confirm I will fully cooperate with these.

"I don't want to be a distraction from the campaign, I should have thought through how it looked."

According to The Guardian, Mr Williams - who is standing for election in Montgomeryshire & Glyndwr - placed a £100 bet on a July election just three days before Mr Sunak named 4 July as the date.

The BBC has not yet been able to verify that he placed a bet on the election date but has contacted Mr Williams for a comment.

A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: “We are aware of contact between a Conservative candidate and the Gambling Commission.

“It is a personal matter for the individual in question.

"As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.”

A Gambling Commission spokesperson said it "does not typically confirm or deny whether any investigations are underway unless or until they are concluded, or if arrests are made or charges are brought during a criminal investigation."

The spokesperson added: “If someone uses confidential information in order to gain an unfair advantage when betting, this may constitute an offence of cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act, which is a criminal offence."

The other candidates standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr are:

• Jeremy Brignell-Thorp, the Green Party
• Oliver Lewis, Reform UK
• Glyn Preston, Liberal Democrat
• Elwyn Vaughan, Plaid Cymru
• Steve Witherden, Labour