Rishi Sunak to fire Tory adviser who bet on election date

Rishi Sunak has been asked to suspend his parliamentary adviser after it emerged that he had placed a bet on the Prime Minister’s election date just days before it was announced.

Craig Williams admitted to placing a tip in the July 4 poll, which led to an investigation by the Gambling Commission.

As the Guardian reported, Williams, who was elected Tory MP for Montgomeryshire in 2019, placed the bet with a Ladbrokes operator in his constituency on May 19. Sunak announced the election date three days later.

Until the dissolution of Parliament two weeks ago, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.

In a statement, Williams told The Guardian: “I was contacted by a journalist about a Gambling Commission investigation into one of my accounts and thought it would be best to be completely transparent.

“I placed my bet on the parliamentary elections a few weeks ago. This has led to some routine investigations and I assure you that I will cooperate fully with them.

“I don’t want it to distract from the election campaign. I should have thought about what it would look like.”

A Conservative Party spokesman added: “We are aware of contacts between a Conservative candidate and the Gambling Commission.”

“It is a personal matter for the individual concerned. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it would not be appropriate to comment further until the process is complete.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Not content with jeopardising the future of the country, it now appears that a senior Conservative has tried to make a quick buck on election day.”

“Given that Craig Williams is a close personal adviser to Rishi Sunak, it is incumbent on the Prime Minister to immediately suspend him as a candidate and member of the Conservative Party for the duration of the investigation.

“Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives are taking the voters for granted.”

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow paymaster, said: “These allegations are completely extraordinary. Rishi Sunak kept this information secret for more than a week but lacked the backbone to take action. Once again, Rishi Sunak has exposed himself as completely weak.

“After all the Tories’ financial scandals, this is further proof that the Tories have learned nothing, have not changed and that even in another five years the chaos will just continue.

“Britain has a chance to put an end to this failed Tory government that is going to charge people £4,800 on their mortgages. It’s time to work with Labour to rebuild.”