Met Police to investigate election betting claims to look into potential 'misconduct in public office'
The Metropolitan Police will investigate some election betting claims to search for potential “misconduct in public office”.
The force has said detectives will look at a “small number of cases” to assess whether alleged offending goes beyond the Gambling Act.
At least five Conservatives are being investigated by the Gambling Commission as part of its inquiry into wagers on the timing of the July 4 election date.
Conservative heavyweight Sir Philip Davies became the latest Tory candidate to be accused of gambling on the election on Wednesday.
He reportedly bet £8,000 against himself holding his marginal Shipley constituency, according to The Sun.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Rishi Sunak caved to mounting calls to withdraw support for two parliamentary candidates facing an investigation by the regulator: his parliamentary aide Craig Williams and Laura Saunders.
Ms Saunders' husband, the Conservative Party's director of campaigning Tony Lee, has taken a leave of absence, as has Tory chief data officer Nick Mason, while Welsh Tory Senedd member Russell George is also facing a probe by the gambling watchdog.
Cabinet minister Alister Jack has also admitted placing bets on the election date, although he is not being investigated by the regulator because he staked the money earlier in the year, before the period covered by the watchdog’s probe into the alleged use of inside information.
Labour has also been dragged into the row, suspending candidate Kevin Craig after he was investigated by the regulator for betting on himself to lose his contest in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said "you have to lead from the front on issues like this", noting that he had suspended Mr Craig "within minutes".
"The Prime Minister delayed and delayed and delayed until eventually he was bullied into taking action," he said.
The Metropolitan Police itself has also come over fire as it emerged on Tuesday that five more officers allegedly placed bets on the timing on the general election.
The force explained it had been passed information about the officers by the Gambling Commission after Rishi Sunak’s close protection officer was arrested last week over alleged bets on the election date.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "The Gambling Commission will continue to lead the investigation into cases where the alleged offending is limited to breaches of the Gambling Act only.
"Met detectives will lead on investigating a small number of cases to assess whether the alleged offending goes beyond Gambling Act offences to include others, such as misconduct in public office."
