McFadden calls for Tory candidate to be suspended over betting scandal

Pat McFadden, who is seeking re-election as MP for Wolverhampton South East, called on Rishi Sunak to suspend Craig Williams and Laura Sanders after it emerged they were under investigation by the Gambling Commission.

Mr Williams, who was MP for Montgomeryshire, is said to have placed a bet at Ladbrokes in Montgomeryshire three days before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the election date.

Yesterday it was revealed that the regulator is also investigating Laura Saunders – the wife of Conservative campaign manager Tony Lee – the Conservative candidate for Bristol North West. Mr Lee has since taken leave from his duties.

As part of the investigation, a police officer from Mr Sunak’s security team was arrested.

Mr McFadden, the Labour Party’s campaign manager, called for both candidates to be suspended.

In a letter to Mr Sunak, he said it was unacceptable that Mr Williams and Ms Saunders had been allowed to stand for the party while a police officer facing similar allegations had been suspended.

Mr McFadden said there were also questions about how far the scandal went.

“If some of your most senior colleagues felt they had free rein to abuse the inside information about the election at their disposal to profit, then we have to ask how many others had access to the same information beforehand and placed bets either themselves or through friends and family?”

Mr McFadden called on the Prime Minister to “show a sense of urgency and decency in this matter and do what is necessary to establish the extent of this scandal”.

Mr Williams issued a statement saying he was cooperating with “routine investigations” but added: “I don’t want this to be a distraction from the campaign. I should have thought carefully about what it looked like.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also called for Miss Lee to be suspended.

He told reporters: “This candidate should be suspended and it is very telling that Rishi Sunak has not yet done so.”

“If it were one of my candidates, he would be gone without even setting foot on the ground.”