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Rishi Sunak has defended his handling of the escalating election-betting scandal, as a Conservative candidate likened the party to a “shower of shit” ahead of the final full week of campaigning before polling day.
The UK prime minister on Monday insisted the Conservatives “will not hesitate to act” against party figures if they are found to have cheated by placing bets on the timing of the election.
But — as he defended the decision not to suspend two Tory candidates being probed — he argued he did not wish to compromise the integrity of the Gambling Commission’s independent inquiry.
Its probe into bets on the date of the July 4 general election placed before Sunak announced the timing has threatened to derail an already struggling Tory re-election campaign.
Sunak’s intervention at an election event hosted by The Sun came after former Olympic rower James Cracknell, who is standing as a Tory candidate in Colchester, heaped criticism on the party’s campaign as he sought to distance himself from it.
In a Facebook video over the weekend, Cracknell said that, if competing in rowing against a team performing as poorly as the Tories, “I would be saying they are a shower of shit”.
In an oblique allusion to the betting scandal, he added that if one of his teammates got caught for cheating, “they’d be dead to me”, adding that “that abuse of trust is unforgivable”. He said he nonetheless believed “the Conservative way is the best for the country”.
Earlier in the day Sunak said he was not aware of further Conservative parliamentary candidates being investigated by the regulator and had never placed any political bets himself. He announced the Tories had opened an internal inquiry into the matter.
The Gambling Commission is exploring hundreds of wagers placed in political gambling markets in May, according to people briefed on the probe. Bets where individuals stood to gain more than £199 are being examined to see if those who made the wagers have any potential connections to the Conservative party, they added.
Four Conservatives are known to be under investigation: Craig Williams, Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide; Laura Saunders, a party staffer; her husband, Tory campaign director Tony Lee; and Nick Mason, the Tories’ chief data officer. Williams and Saunders are candidates in the general election.
The Financial Times previously reported on an unusual surge in bets before Sunak’s announcement on May 22 of the snap general election.
Embroiled in gambling scandal
Tony lee
Director of campaigning for the Conservative party
Laura Saunders
Conservative staffer standing for election in Bristol North West
Sunak Bodyguard
Unnamed police officer working as part of Sunak’s protection team
Craig Williams
Parliamentary private secretary to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Nick mason
Conservative chief data officer
Opposition parties continued to bombard the Conservatives with criticism on Monday. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused the Tories of seeming to “resemble something of an organised betting ring” and predicted the scandal would worsen.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Tories’ internal investigation was an attempt to forestall a spiralling row over the controversy, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the Tories “could do far more” to grasp the issue.
Former Tory minister Tobias Ellwood said Sunak should have suspended Williams and Saunders as candidates, noting the “scale of this” and “the potential for the story to continue to eclipse, to overshadow, the election”.
“The public wants to see clearer, robust action,” he told the BBC.
Ellwood said the government should go further to “introduce clear rules” against politicians placing bets “as you have in the City in connection to the purchase of stocks and shares for example”.
Former justice secretary Robert Buckland said on radio station LBC he was “deeply hurt” by the unfolding scandal and that Sunak should suspend the people being investigated while the probe was ongoing.
One gambling company voided the bet made by one of the Tories under investigation, meaning they did not profit from the wager, said a person familiar with the matter.
Under UK gambling laws, “cheating” is a criminal offence. But it is uncertain how this would apply to political betting on the timing of an election.
Between 2005, when the current regime was brought into law, and March 2023, only one person was successfully prosecuted for cheating by the Gambling Commission, the regulator said last year.
A police protection officer has also been arrested for the offence of misconduct in public office after he was contacted by the Gambling Commission relating to a bet he placed on the election.
Williams has apologised for placing a flutter on the election, saying he made a “huge error of judgment”; Saunders said she is co-operating with the investigation and accused the media of breaching her privacy; Lee has declined to comment on an ongoing process; Mason denied any wrongdoing.
