Labour's Pat McFadden wants Gambling Commission answers from the Prime Minister

Labour Campaign Coordinator, Pat McFadden, has written to the Prime Minister asking for answers following the revelations that the Gambling Commission are looking into bets made by senior Conservative party members.

Former Powys MP, Craig Williams, who allegedly made a bet at Ladbrokes, is helping the Gambling Commission with their enquiries.

It has also been reported today that a police officer in Rishi Sunak's close protection team has been arrested for making a bet on the general election date.

In another blow to the Conservatives it appears that husband and wife team, Tony Lee and Laura Saunders are to be investigated by the Gambling Commission. Tony Lee is the Conservative Party’s Director of Campaigns. He has now taken an emergency leave of absence whilst the investigation takes place. Laura Saunders is the Conservative party’s candidate in Bristol North West.

Pat McFadden's letter to the Prime Minister:

The Prime Minister

10 Downing Street

Whitehall SWIA 2AA

20th June 2024

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing to you regarding the scandal that is unfolding around your announcement of the general election on 22 May, and the growing number of individuals accused of making bets to try to profit from their inside knowledge of that announcement.

It was reported last night that a member of your Close Protection Team has been suspended from his job, and subsequently arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after a communication from the Gambling Commission to the Metropolitan Police.

Can I ask you very simply why you think that a serving police officer should be suspended from his role, because of allegations that he made a bet based on inside information, while the two colleagues of yours who so far stand accused of the same offence - Craig Williams, your PPS, and Laura Saunders, a member of your CCHQ staff and partner of your Campaigns Director - are still being allowed to stand as Tory candidates in the election on July 4th?

Surely you can understand that - yet again - this looks as though there is one rule for members of the Tory party, and another rule for everyone else, specifically on this occasion a serving police officer. If you can see how wrong that is, will you now at the very least remove your support for Mr Williams and Ms Saunders as Conservative election candidates?

The other major question to be addressed is how wide this scandal goes. If some of your most senior colleagues felt they had carte blanch to misuse the inside information they had on the election in order to make a profit, we must ask how many others had advance access to the same information, and placed bets either by themselves, or through their friends and family?

If you take the correct action now concerning Mr Williams and Ms Saunders - to ensure consistency with the treatment of your Close Protection Officer - will you guarantee that anyone else who it emerges placed bets on the timing of the general election, whether in their own name or through a third party, will also be suspended?

You will also be aware that, under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, cheating at gambling including the misuse of inside information - is punishable by a term in prison of up to two years. Will you ensure that the Conservative Party now co-operates with the Gambling Commission - and if necessary, the police - in their investigations into this scandal. No one is above the law and it is essential that the taint of corruption now surrounding the behaviour of some who may have known about the election date is properly investigated and punished.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that members of the Conservative party have been accused of exploiting the opportunities their role presents to them to stuft their own pockets, and you will therefore understand our concern that history is repeating itself.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw ministers and advisers across the Tory government using that crisis as a chance to award multi-million pound, taxpayer-funded contracts to their friends and cronies, for the provision of everything from opinion polling to personal protective equipment, with all the usual procurement processes and propriety checks ignored.

During the political chaos of Summer 2022, with three Prime Ministers in the space of four months and multiple ministerial reshuffles, we saw Tory MPs pocketing three month severance payouts for only a few weeks work, or keeping their severance payments even after returning swiftly to the front bench.

This is a pattern of behaviour running through the modern incarnation of the Conservative Party. It says that - whatever is happening to the rest of the country, whatever the rules may say, and whatever the basic concepts of right and wrong might dictate - the bottom line is can we make a quick profit out of it?

You promised professionalism, integrity and accountability. You have ended up with your own closest colleagues allegedly using their inside knowledge of an election announcement to try and con money out of the bookmakers, and being allowed to stay on in their roles while a serving police officer accused of the same offence has been suspended and arrested.

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. It will speak volumes if you choose to stay silent and do nothing instead.

Yours sincerely,

Pat McFadden

Labour Campaign Coordinator

https://twitter.com/patmcfaddenmp/status/1803745174255812954