Tories launch internal inquiry into betting scandal

The Conservatives have launched an internal inquiry into the election date gambling scandal, Rishi Sunak has said.

The Prime Minister said he would “act on any findings from” the Tories’ own investigation as he denied that he has ever bet on politics while an MP.

He has previously said that anybody found to have broken the rules by wrongfully betting on the date of the election would be kicked out of the party.

The Gambling Commission, an independent watchdog, is investigating claims that a number of senior Conservatives bet on the date of the snap election.

Mr Sunak told reporters in Edinburgh: “In parallel, we’ve been conducting our own internal inquiries and of course will act on any relevant findings or information from that and pass it on to the Gambling Commission.”

So far, four Tories have been publicly named as being under investigation, including two candidates standing for the party at the election.

Craig Williams, a senior aide to the Prime Minister, has admitted that he had a “flutter” on the election being called in July. Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate in Bristol North West, is also being looked at by the Gambling Commission over an alleged election bet.

Her husband Tony Lee, the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning, is on a leave of absence from his role and is also being investigated.

On Sunday, it was reported that Nick Mason, the party’s head of data, is under investigation by the watchdog over allegedly placing “dozens” of bets.

Mr Sunak said he was “not aware of any other candidate” that the Gambling Commission is looking at over election wagers. His comments come after the watchdog widened its investigation to include friends and family of senior Tories who may have placed bets.

Several members of the Cabinet have been forced to deny having a bet themselves amid speculation that the scandal could reach the top of Government.

Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, became the latest to publicly distance himself from the row, with a spokesman saying that he “didn’t place any bets”. Other senior Conservatives to have denied any involvement include Penny Mordaunt, Grant Shapps, Mark Harper and David TC Davies.

The Tories fought back on Monday by accusing Labour of putting “undue pressure” on the gambling watchdog after demanding that it named those under investigation.

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said Labour was trying to “lean on” the independent body and called its behaviour “pretty concerning”.

His remarks came after Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, wrote to the Gambling Commission urging it to release the names of figures being investigated.

Mr Heaton-Harris said: “I saw that the leader of Labour’s campaign, Pat McFadden, wrote to try and put some undue influence on the Gambling Commission over the weekend.

“That is actually pretty concerning in itself, Labour trying to lean on yet another independent body like it leant on the Speaker of the House of Commons to not have a vote on Gaza.”

Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory claims that he was trying to exert pressure on the body were “nonsense” and said Rishi Sunak needed to “show leadership” on the scandal.

He said: “The Gambling Commission is obviously looking at these cases, and what we need is leadership from the Prime Minister – he should have suspended those candidates.”