British Prime Minister Sunak’s security officer arrested for allegedly betting on election timing

June 19 (UPI) – A security guard for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been arrested for allegedly placing bets on the timing of the British general election.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Wednesday that it had suspended and arrested a police officer from its Royalty and Specialist Protection Command on suspicion of abuse of office.

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The arrest was made as part of a Gambling Commission investigation into alleged betting “related to the timing of the general election,” according to the BBC, which first reported the story on Wednesday. The betting regulator had contacted the Metropolitan Police about the officer last week.

The officer was arrested on Monday “on suspicion of abuse of office.” He was taken into custody and released on bail pending further investigations, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“The Gambling Commission continues to lead the investigation into alleged betting offences and our investigations are running in parallel,” the department added.

The arrest comes after a senior adviser to Sunak admitted last week that he too was being investigated by the Gambling Commission. Tory candidate Craig Williams, Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary, is accused of placing a bet on a July election.

The Prime Minister recently announced that the British general election to elect members of the House of Commons will take place on July 4.

“Rishi Sunak must launch a Cabinet Office investigation into what is turning into another scandal at the heart of government,” said Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper.

“This smacks of even more depravity and we need answers,” she added. “There needs to be an investigation to find out who knew what and when.”