Conservative MPs are facing scrutiny before the elections

LONDON – Britain’s ruling Conservative Party has been embroiled in a scandal over allegations that senior officials manipulated winning bets during the general election.

5 nations U.K. Is connected to. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is being investigated for allegedly placing bets on the timing of the July 4 election before Sunak announced it on May 22.

According to a report in The Sunday Times, Conservative Birthday Party information officer Nick Mason is the original Tory expert to be investigated by the playing commission. The British newspaper reported that Mason had taken a leave of absence and his spokesman denied any wrongdoing. CNBC could not immediately confirm this and the Conservative Party has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Craig Williams, the Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire, who is also an ally of the Prime Minister, was the first to raise questions about gambling at the time of the election. He showed in a comment on X that he “made a fuss about the general election a few weeks ago.”

Williams said, “This has resulted in some routine inquiries and I confirm that I will cooperate fully with these. I don’t want this to distract from the campaign. I should have thought about what that looks like.”

Conservative Party campaign director Tony Lee and his wife, Laura Saunders – the party’s candidate in Bristol North West – are also being considered by the playing commission.

The Isolated reported that Lee had taken a release of absence, and lawyers acting on Saunders’ behalf told the newspaper that she would cooperate with the playing commission and had nothing additional to add. Saunders and Lee have not yet responded to CNBC’s request for comment.

Ultimately, one of Sunak’s police officers was arrested on 17 June for lack of a warrant for misconduct in the nearest workplace. Britain’s Metropolitan Police were contacted by the Gambling Commission about alleged betting by a police officer at the time of the July vote.

The officer has been removed from operational duties and the subject has been referred to the Met’s professional general directorate and separate administrative center for police behaviour, London’s police force said in a statement.

The scandal comes amid a decline in support for the Conservative Party, with a recent poll suggesting Sunak could be the first Prime Minister to lose his seat in a general election. There are calls for Sunak to suspend party figures who are being investigated by the playing commission.

“It’s very clear that Rishi Sunak has not already done that,” Keir Starmer, head of the opposition Labor Party and favorite to win the next general election, told reporters in the final moments. “If it were one of my candidates, they would have walked away and their feet wouldn’t have touched the floor.”

Sunak declined to comment on whether those involved in the scandal should be suspended. Speaking at the end of the televised BBC election match, Sunak said he was “incredibly angry”.

Sunak told Live Target: “What I can tell you is that if anyone is found breaking the rules, not only will they face the full consequences of the law, but I will make sure they are expelled from the Conservative Party. Let it be done.” audience. Sunak told reporters on Monday that he and his country had not taken any gambles during the election.

Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities and an outgoing Conservative MP, told the Sunday Times that the betting scandal is as devastating to the Tories as the “Partygate” scandal was during the entire COVID-19 pandemic.

“If people have used inside information to place bets, that is very wrong,” Gove said on BBC News. He also said that the act was “reprehensible”.,

The importance of invisible knowledge to realize unfair advantage when placing bets may represent the legal status of a job under Division 42 of the Playing Business in the UK.

The Sports Commission is investigating “the possibility of crimes related to the election date,” a spokesperson for the trade regulator said in an email comment. He said the commission has not been able to ascertain the identity of those involved in the ongoing investigation.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s candidate for Wolverhampton South East, has urged the Playing Fee to make public “the names of other people they are investigating in relation to this matter”.

McFadden wrote, “I am deeply concerned by the ongoing speculation that is casting a shadow over the election. The public would be surprised if anyone deciding how to run an election would use inside information to bet on that outcome.” What they already knew.” In your letter to Shulk.