Suspended Labour candidate 'deeply regrets' betting he would lose election

Suspended Labour candidate Kevin Craig has said he “deeply regrets" betting that he would lose the seat he was contesting in the upcoming election.

Mr Craig, who had been standing in Suffolk before being suspended by the Labour Party, said he will “fully comply” with a Gambling Commission investigation which is underway.

Labour temporarily removed him from the party on Tuesday, after the gambling watchdog launched a probe into him for placing the bet.

Taking to X, Mr Craig admitted that while he has "enjoyed the odd bet for fun whether on politics or horses" he "deeply regrets" placing the bet.

Mr Craig wrote: "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."

It comes after the Tory party became embroiled in a betting scandal around the date of the election, with five people with connections to the prime minister being investigated by the Gambling Commission for allegedly placing election date bets.

Two of those are Conservative candidates in the election, and after pressure mounting on the PM to act, the party announced on Tuesday it was withdrawing support for them.

A Labour Party spokeswoman said after being contacted by the commission the party acted immediately to administratively suspend Mr Craig pending investigation.

A Labour Party spokeswoman said: “With Keir Starmer as leader, the Labour party upholds the highest standards for our parliamentary candidates, as the public rightly expects from any party hoping to serve, which is why we have acted immediately in this case.”

Mr Craig is the CEO of a political communications and crisis management company.

ITV News understands the Labour Party will return £100,000 in donations that Kevin Craig has made during Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.

He's standing in a seat which recently saw a defection from the Tories to Labour. Dan Poulter defected to the Labour Party in April, but is not standing for re-election.

The Tory candidates the party withdrew support from on Tuesday are Craig Williams - who was the prime minister’s parliamentary aide - and Laura Saunders, who is standing in Bristol North West, will no longer have the support of the party.

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Because nominations have closed, Mr Williams – who is standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr – and Ms Saunders will both still be on the ballot paper as Conservative candidates.

The withdrawal of support means the party won't campaign for them, and is effectively therefore not standing candidates in those seats.

Alongside Mr Williams and Ms Saunders, two of Sunak's close team are also being investigated - Ms Saunders' husband and Director of Campaigning Tony Lee, and Chief Data Officer Nick Mason, along with one of the prime minister's close protection officers, who has not been identified.

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police revealed they have received information from the gambling watchdog about another five officers who allegedly placed bets on when the election would take place.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “It is still the case that only one officer is under criminal investigation.

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“We have, however, been passed information from the Gambling Commission alleging that five further officers have placed bets related to the timing of the election.

“The Gambling Commission continues to investigate these matters. The officers have not been arrested but the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed."

The force also gave more details on the officers' roles - with none of the additional five being in a close protection position.

“The officers are based on the Royalty and Specialist Command, the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command and the Central West Basic Command Unit.

“Decisions on whether they will be subject to any restrictions will be taken in due course.”

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