Suspended Labour candidate admits betting against himself in election

A parliamentary candidate has said he is “deeply sorry” for betting against his own victory in the general election after he was suspended from the Labour Party amid an investigation by the Gambling Authority.

Kevin Craig admitted he made a “stupid error of judgement” by betting that the Tories would defeat him in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency, which the rival party won in 2019 with a majority of 23,391 votes.

He stated that he did this because he believed he would “never win this seat” and planned to donate all winnings to local charities.

Although I did not place this bet without prior knowledge of the outcome, this was a major mistake for which I apologize unreservedly.

Kevin Craig

The Labour Party reportedly learned on Tuesday that Mr Craig was being investigated by the Gambling Commission and immediately withdrew its support for him.

This comes in the wake of a major betting scandal on the date of the general election, in which four Conservative candidates and officials are the subject of an investigation by the British regulator.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Craig said: “Although I did not place this bet without prior knowledge of the outcome, this was a major mistake for which I apologise unreservedly.”

He added: “I deeply regret what I did and will accept the consequences of this foolish error of judgement. I am deeply sorry to the many dedicated and loyal local Labour volunteers who supported my campaign. I will fully support the investigation.”

A Labour spokeswoman said: “With Keir Starmer as leader, the Labour Party maintains the highest standards for our parliamentary candidates, as the public rightly expects from any party seeking a seat in Parliament. That is why we acted immediately in this case.”

The PA news agency has learned that the party has also since returned £100,000 in donations it received from Mr Craig.

Mr Craig, the founder of PR agency PLMR, who is described on its website as an expert in “political communications” and “crisis management”, was on the campaign trail in Suffolk the previous Tuesday, according to his social media accounts.

The candidate posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had visited the Ipswich Family Bank and said he hoped to “work with them to make change after July 4th.”

He stood for the Labour Party in this constituency after Dr Dan Poulter, who had won the seat as a Tory, defected to the opposition party in protest at the Conservatives’ “drift to the right” and neglect of the NHS.

Dr. Poulter confirmed that he will not seek re-election in 2024.

With nominations closed, Mr Craig will still be on the ballot paper – along with Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, the two Tory candidates suspended over allegations of insider betting on the election.

Rishi Sunak withdrew his support for Mr Williams and Ms Saunders on Tuesday after days of pressure to take stronger action following allegations they used inside information to place bets on the date of the July 4 vote.

The dispute has overshadowed the Conservatives’ election campaign in recent days as Sunak tries to close his party’s deficit to Labour, which is an average of 21 points behind in the polls.

Mr Williams, who was a parliamentary adviser to the Prime Minister and is standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, says he made “an error of judgement but not a criminal offence” and intends to clear his name.

In addition to the parliamentary candidates, two senior Tory officials have also applied for leave of absence at a crucial time in the election campaign after they too were implicated in the Gambling Commission’s investigation.

Ms Saunders’ husband Tony Lee, the Conservatives’ campaign manager, and Nick Mason, the information commissioner, have resigned from their posts. A police officer from Sunak’s security team is also under investigation.

There were calls from within the party itself for the Prime Minister to intervene with regard to the candidates, fearing that the decision would further damage the Conservatives’ electoral chances.

The regulator said the investigation into Mr Craig was independent of the broader investigation into election betting.

A Gambling Commission spokesman said: “This investigation is a separate case to the ongoing investigation into election betting.

“This is an ongoing criminal investigation and the Commission cannot provide further details at this stage.”