Met Police step in to investigate politicians involved in betting scandal

Rishi Sunak repeatedly refused to confirm or deny disclosing when the election would be held to a close aide who placed a bet predicting the July 4 date ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan reports

The Metropolitan Police have revealed they're taking charge of investigations for the most serious cases in the election betting scandal.

The force say they're investigating one of Rishi Sunak's close protection officers, along with some politicians and party officials for potential misconduct in public office offences.

The force also said on Thursday an additional six police officers are being looked into over bets on the timing of the General Election.

The Met and the Gambling Commission issued an update on the inquiry into the alleged use of inside information to bet on the July 4 date.

So far, five Conservative candidates and officials have also been caught up in the inquiry, although the authorities have not confirmed their identities, with reports suggesting the figure could be 15 parliamentary candidates and officials.

The Gambling Commission is focused on allegations of cheating, which are likely to make up the majority of cases, while Scotland Yard will lead on what is likely to be a much smaller number of cases where there could be additional offences.

One Labour candidate is also being investigated by the Commission for betting he would lose the seat he's contesting.

Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that not aware of any other Labour candidates involved in the scandal.

He said "this latest development highlights how serious this is", and accused Sunak of being "bullied into" taking action over the Tory candidates being investigated.

Rishi Sunak refused to say on Thursday whether he told close aide Craig Williams about the date of the election before he put a bet on it.

The prime minister was asked multiple times whether he told Williams when the election would be, but Sunak said he was unable to answer during an "ongoing investigation".

"You'll recognise whilst there are ongoing independent investigations... it's just not right for me to say anything more about that", Sunak said.

He went on to insist that "if anyone has broken the rules, of course they should face the full consequences of the law, and I will ensure they're booted out of the party."

The PM withdrew support for Williams, who is running to be a Tory MP, after pressure for him to take action while Williams is being investigated by the gambling watchdog.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton that the gambling scandal "shows the arrogance and sense of entitlement" in the Conservative Party.

"The scale of this betting scandal, that's the issue. Every day more and more names", he said.

Farage disclosed that he placed a bet on the EU referendum in 2016 and twice on Donald Trump in the US.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told ITV News "we've got to review the regulations on gambling on politics."

When asked about how much he'd ever won from a political bet, he said: "It's not about how much I won or didn't win... it's about making sure the rules are fair."

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said: “We are focused on an investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the General Election.

“Our enforcement team has made rapid progress so far and will continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police to draw this case to a just conclusion.

“We understand the desire for information; however, to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time, including the name of any person who may be under suspicion.

”Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin, who is leading the Met investigation, said: “We have agreed a joint approach with the Gambling Commission, who are the appropriate authority to investigate the majority of these allegations.

“There will, however, be a small number of cases where a broader criminal investigation by the police is required.”

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