Tony Lee, the Tory campaign boss, is being probed over an alleged election date bet - he joins two Tory candidates and a police officer who were caught up in the allegations
The Tory party's Campaigning Director is being probed by the Gambling Commission over an alleged bet on the date of the General Election.
Tony Lee is being looked into by the gambling regulator alongside his wife Laura Saunders, who is the Tory candidate for Bristol North West and has worked for the party since 2015, the BBC reported. The Tories confirmed Mr Lee took "a leave of absence" from Party HQ on Wednesday, leaving the Conservatives without a campaigning director two weeks before polling day. Under the Gambling Act, cheats can be jailed for up to two years.
Ms Saunders will be cooperating with the probe and has nothing to add, according to her solicitors. The candidate, who has worked in various roles for the party since 2015, is married to Tony Lee, the Conservative Party's Director of Campaigns.
It comes after Rishi Sunak's parliamentary aide Craig Williams admitted he was being looked at by the Gambling Commission after he put a £100 bet on a General Election being held in July. In a statement last week, he conceded he had “put a flutter” on the date and should have “thought through how it looks”. He apologised and said he had made a “huge error of judgement” over the alleged bet.
Separately a police officer in Mr Sunak's close protection team has been arrested over an alleged bet on the timing of the General Election. The male officer was suspended from his role before being arrested by police "on suspicion of misconduct in public office" on Monday. He was taken into custody and bailed pending further enquiries.
Labour called for the two Conservative candidates to be suspended. Asked about Mr Lee taking a leave of absence, Keir Starmer told the Mirror: "It's astonishing that we're in this place. However many people have already been identified as potentially involved in this. I'm hearing the news that there may be more.
"Rishi Sunak just needs to take action, he needs to account for exactly who knew what. But also when you've got a candidate standing for election in two weeks who was involved, they've got to go. They've got to be suspended and I don't know why he hasn't done that. I think it is a real measure of his leadership, or lack of leadership."
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the party's campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said it "looks as though there is one rule for members of the Tory Party, and another rule for everyone else" as he pointed out that a police officer has been suspended for the same offence, while the party's candidates have not.
"I urge you to gain a sense of urgency and decency about this matter, and do what is necessary both to establish how wide this scandal goes, and take immediate action against all those implicated," he wrote. "It will speak volumes if you choose to stay silent and do nothing instead."
The Lib Dems have also called for both Ms Saunders and Mr Williams to be suspended. The party's leader Ed Davey said the situation appeared to be an example of "corruption". "The idea that you bet on something when you know the result, that is immoral, it is illegal, and I can't believe people at the top of the Conservative Party are doing this and have allowed this to happen, he said. "This is corruption, frankly, and it needs to have a heavy hand from the top."
Communities Secretary Michael Gove said it would "reprehensible" if people were using insider information to place bets. "What I can't do is sort of get too much into the detail of the case while an investigation is going on," he said. "But I can talk about the broad principle and you're absolutely right, it's reprehensible."
He admitted it "doesn't look great" for Mr Lee and his wife to be facing a Gambling Commission investigation, adding: "But I don't know all the facts at the moment. I'd be loath to condemn without there being an investigation that's been concluded."
Meanwhile the Conservative Party X/Twitter deleted an attack post on Labour which featured a video of a casino wheel with the tabs reading "more tax" and "more debt". The caption read: "If you bet on Labour, you can never win."
Asked about Ms Saunders's case, a Conservative spokesman said: “We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission about a small number of individuals. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.” It added on Mr Lee: “The Director of Campaigning took a leave of absence from CCHQ yesterday.”
A statement released by her solicitors said: "As the Conservative Party has already stated, investigations are ongoing. Ms Saunders will be co-operating with the Gambling Commission and has nothing further to add."
The statement said it was "inappropriate to conduct any investigation of this kind via the media" said she was considering legal action for infringement of privacy rights.
A spokesman from the Gambling Commission said: "Currently the Commission is investigating the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election. This is an ongoing investigation, and the Commission cannot provide any further details at this time."
In relation to Mr William's case, a spokesman for the Gambling Commission said: “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."
In a statement related to the police officer's case, a Met spokesman told the Mirror: "The matter was immediately referred to officers in the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards, who opened an investigation, and the officer was also removed from operational duties. The Gambling Commission continues to lead the investigation into the alleged betting offences, and our investigation is running in parallel to that."
