Rishi Sunak abandons two Tory candidates at centre of election day betting scandal

On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak bowed to mounting pressure and withdrew his support for two Conservative candidates who were at the centre of a betting scandal over the timing of the election.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Following ongoing internal investigations, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as parliamentary candidates in the upcoming general election.

“We have asked the Gambling Commission that this decision does not affect the investigations it is conducting, as these are rightly independent and ongoing.”

At a campaign rally in London, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer replied: “Why didn’t this happen a week ago?”

The prime minister’s U-turn came after Northern Ireland Secretary Steve Baker joined other Conservatives, including former Defence Secretary Tobias Ellwood, in calling for the suspension of four Tories accused of betting on the election date.

“I would call them and ask, ‘Did you do it?’ And if they did it, they would be suspended,” Baker said on ITV’s Peston on Monday night.

“But the Prime Minister would have to answer why he didn’t do it. I have no inside information as to why the Prime Minister didn’t do it.”

The decision means Mr Williams no longer has the Tories’ official backing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, and Ms Saunders in Bristol North West. However, they will remain on the ballot paper as the deadline for changes has passed.

Mr Williams, who was an MP in the outgoing House of Commons and parliamentary adviser to Mr Sunak, admitted a “major error of judgement” when he expressed “speculation” about the election date three days before the Prime Minister’s surprise announcement on May 22.

Ms Saunders has promised to co-operate with the Gambling Commission’s investigation. Her husband, Conservative campaign manager Tony Lee, and the party’s chief privacy officer Nick Mason have both taken leave.

As recently as Monday, Mr Sunak had insisted it was “right” to await the outcome of investigations by the Gambling Commission, the police and the Conservative Party itself as he sought to put behind him the scandal that has rocked his campaign for the July 4 election.

Labour frontman Jonathan Ashworth compared the election betting row to the Partygate and PPE personal protective equipment scandals, claiming it showed that “the Conservatives believe one rule applies to them and another to everyone else”.

“That it has taken him nearly two weeks to realise what was obvious to everyone else is another example of Rishi Sunak’s appallingly weak leadership,” he said, referring to Mr Williams’ initial apology after his £100 bet was exposed by the Guardian.

“The Conservatives who have tried to line their own pockets by betting on the election date are not fit to stand for Parliament.

“Rishi Sunak must now come clean to voters across the country and tell them exactly how many of his Conservatives are involved and who they are.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This should have happened immediately when these scandalous revelations came to light, but instead Rishi Sunak has dithered and dithered.”

“Sunak must immediately confirm that these candidates, if elected, will not have the confidence of the Conservative Party.”

Home Secretary James Cleverly said he would not speculate on a Daily Telegraph report saying a source close to the Cabinet Office had raised suspicions that the identities of Conservative candidates and Metropolitan Police officers had been leaked.

He told LBC: “I don’t know why this allegation has been made.” Mr Cleverly had previously said he did not believe any Cabinet ministers were under investigation.

The Met said the claim that police had passed on information was “simply untrue”.

Home Secretary Michael Tomlinson expressed his understanding of the frustration expressed by former Olympic rower and Tory candidate James Cracknell after he described the party as “shitty rain”.

Mr Cracknell, who is standing for the Colchester constituency in Essex, did not hold back in describing his own party’s situation in the face of the betting scandal.

Mr Tomlinson told Sky News: “That’s true and I share his frustration. I agree with the frustration that is being expressed, more than frustration, it’s also about anger.”

Shortly before the U-turn, however, the minister had supported the Prime Minister in her insistence that due process must be followed against the four Conservatives.

“The lawyer in me knows there is a process, there is the Independent Gambling Commission. That is the first thing and as the Prime Minister said yesterday, there is also an internal process,” Tomlinson said.

“But this is important, and it is important that it happens quickly.

“And as you say, anyone who breaks the law or even just fails to meet the high standards that the Prime Minister and all of us expect must also be severely punished.”

Cracknell made the comments in a Facebook video promoting his campaign in Colchester, where the former Olympic and world champion is bucking the Labour wave and fighting to keep the seat for the Tories.

“Two weeks before the Olympics and if we were running against the Conservative Party, my teammates and I would say they’re a load of sh*t,” he said in the video.

“And if one of my teammates was caught cheating, he would be dead to me. This breach of trust is unforgivable.”