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

CNN — (CNN) — A police officer who is part of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s protection team was arrested this week for allegedly placing bets related to the timing of the general election, police told CNN.

The officer was arrested on Monday “on suspicion of abuse of office,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said on Wednesday.

“We can confirm that on Friday 14 June the Met was contacted by the Gambling Commission who advised us that they were investigating alleged bets made by a police officer from the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command in relation to the timing of the general election,” the spokesperson added.

The officer was relieved of his operational duties and the case was immediately referred to the Metropolitan Police’s Directorate of Professional Standards, which launched an investigation, the spokesman said.

The arrest came days after The Guardian newspaper reported that a close associate of Sunak had placed a £100 ($127) bet on a July election date before the prime minister had publicly announced that date. Craig Williams apologised for the bet, telling the BBC: “I clearly made a huge error of judgement, that’s for sure, and I apologise.”

The police spokesman said the country’s gambling commission was continuing its investigation into “alleged betting offences and our investigations are running in parallel”.

When asked for comment, the Prime Minister’s Press Office told CNN that it had nothing to add to the Metropolitan Police’s statement.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before the police made their statement, Sunak’s Conservative Party released a campaign ad on social media with the text “If you bet on Labour, you can never win”, alongside a video of a roulette wheel.

Many people have since responded in the comments by pointing to the news of the police officer’s arrest for allegedly betting on the election.

The British general election will take place on July 4. Opinion polls show Sunak trailing by around 20 percentage points, which also suggests that the opposition Labour Party is on track to win for the first time since 2005.

Sunak’s flagging campaign was further shaken in early June when he apologised for leaving the 80th anniversary of D-Day commemorations early to film a television interview – a decision that sparked anger and disbelief in Britain.

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