Number of police officers accused of placing bets on election grows to seven, as Met gives update on investigation

27 June 2024, 11:50 | Updated: 27 June 2024, 12:00

The number of police officers accused of placing bets on the election has grown to seven, as the Met confirmed it would be investigating for possible criminal offences.

The Met has said it will investigate a small number of bets made on the timing of the election, working with the Gambling Commission.

Police will investigate cases involving alleged offences that go beyond the Gambling Act that could be related to misconduct in public office.

One member of Rishi Sunak's close protection team was arrested over an alleged bet made on the date of the election, and has since been bailed.

Six more police officers are now being investigated by the Gambling Commission.

Meanwhile, as many as fifteen Conservatives could be under investigation by the Gambling Commission over alleged bets made on the date of the election, reports suggest.

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Two Conservative candidates have been suspended so far - Laura Saunders and Craig Williams - following an internal party investigation.

Police said they were comparing the list of people who placed bets on the timing of the election with the list of their own officers.

They said that that the allegations will be divided into two categories - those that are in breach of the Gambling Act (Cheating) only, and those that may constitute a more serious offence - misconduct in public office.

Police said: "These will be assessed by the Met’s Specialist Crime Command to determine what further investigation is required. The number of these cases is likely to be much smaller than those in the first category.

"The Gambling Commission continues to review whether any bets placed on the timing of the General Election will be within scope of either investigation."

Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin, who is leading the Met investigation, said on Thursday: “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.

“We will aim to provide updates at key points as our investigation progresses.”

Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “We are focussed 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.”

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A Met Police spokesperson said: "The Met is not taking over the investigation into bets on the timing of the General Election.

"The Gambling Commission will continue to lead the investigation into cases where the alleged offending is limited to breaches of the Gambling Act only.

"Met detectives will lead on investigating a small number of cases to assess whether the alleged offending goes beyond Gambling Act offences to include others, such as misconduct in public office.

"We will provide further information tomorrow."

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As things stand, at least five Conservatives are being investigated by the Gambling Commission as part of its inquiry into wagers on the timing of the July 4 poll.

And on Wednesday evening, it emerged that one Tory candidate - Philip Davies - allegedly bet £8,000 on himself losing his marginal seat in Shipley, according to The Sun.

This is similar to the actions of one suspended Labour candidate, Kevin Craig, who bet on himself to lose in the upcoming election. He was immediately suspended by the Labour Party.

On Tuesday, cabinet minister Alister Jack admitted to placing three bets on the election date, one of which was successful.

However, Mr Jack is not being investigated by the regulator because he staked the money earlier in the year, before the period covered by the watchdog's probe into the alleged use of inside information.

He denied previous reports in which he claimed during an interview conducted shortly after the snap election that he had won £2,100 on a bet.

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On Wednesday, Mr Sunak and Sir Keir went head-to-head in this election's final leaders' debate, with the Labour leader accusing the Prime Minister of being "bullied into action" in relation to the betting scandal.

Mr Sunak said he was "furious" to learn about the allegations made against Conservatives and confirmed two people had been suspended following an internal party investigation.

The Labour leader said he acted "swiftly" to suspended one Labour candidate who bet on himself to lose the election.