Scottish Secretary Alister Jack claimed he won £2,100 betting on the date of the election shortly after it was announced by Rishi Sunak.
The Conservative cabinet minister reportedly told the BBC shortly after the announcement on May 22 that he made £2,100 by betting on election dates in June and July, with one of them placed on odds of 25/1.
But Mr Jack told the broadcaster last week his comments were ‘a joke’, adding ‘I was pulling your leg’.
He today doubled down on his defence, saying he ‘did not place any bets on the date of the general election during May’.
The Tory MP also claimed he had ‘never, on any occasion, broken any Gambling Commission rules’.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack (pictured) claimed he won £2,100 betting on the date of the election shortly after it was announced by Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (C) and Britain’s Scotland Secretary Alister Jack (R) visit Port of Cromarty Firth in Invergordon, on January 13, 2023
Mr Jack said in a statement: ‘I am very clear that I have never, on any occasion, broken any Gambling Commission rules’, said Mr Jack.
‘I did not place any bets on the date of the general election during May – the period under investigation by the Gambling Commission.
‘Furthermore, I am not aware of any family or friends placing bets. I have nothing more to say on this matter.’
A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said: ‘We are not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals involved in this investigation.’
The BBC also claimed Mr Jack had been ‘telling colleagues and journalists for at least a year that he thought a June or July election made the most strategic sense for his party’.
It comes after the Conservatives today announced Craig Williams and Laura Saunders will no longer be ‘supported’ by the party ‘as a result of ongoing internal enquiries’ by the Conservative Party.
Tory candidate in Bristol West, Laura Saunders (pictured, left) and her husband and the party’s director of campaigning, Tony Lee (pictured, right) are accused of making bets on the election
The highest profile person caught up in the scandal is Rishi Sunak’s top parliamentary aide Craig Williams (pictured)
Mr Williams this afternoon admitted he had ‘committed an error of judgment, not an offence’ and vowed to clear his name and win election in his Welsh seat.
And in another development the BBC today revealed Scottish Secretary Alister Jack claimed he won £2,100 betting on the date of the election shortly after it was announced by Rishi Sunak.
Although the Cabinet Minister has since insisted the comments were ‘a joke’, adding he ‘did not place any bets on the date of the general election during May’.
Five police officers are also being investigated by the GC over betting behaviour around the date of the election before it was announced, Scotland Yard revealed this afternoon.
One of Mr Sunak’s close protection officers has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but the latest individuals are not part of the same team.
In a video statement Mr Williams, the candidate in Montgomeryshire and and Glyndwr, said: ‘I am committed to my campaign to be elected as your Member of Parliament and your staunch champion.’
Scotland Yard said the five officers newly implicated in the scandal were from the Royalty and Specialist Command, the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command and the Central West Basic Command Unit. None of them work in a close protection role as a political bodyguard.
Labour also became embroiled in the growing political betting scandal today as the party revealed it had suspended an election candidate who bet on himself to lose.
Kevin Craig, who is standing in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, is being investigated by the Gambling Commission over a bet he said he placed weeks ago when he did not think he’d win.
Labour candidate Kevin Craig (left) is being investigated by the Gambling Commission over a bet he said he placed weeks ago when he did not think he’d win
The seat had a 23,000 Tory majority in 2019 but recent polls put him neck-and-neck with Conservative candidate Patrick Spencer.
In a statement this afternoon Mr Craig, who is also a major Labour donor, said: ‘While I did not place this bet with any prior knowledge of the outcome, this was a huge mistake, for which I apologise unreservedly.
‘I have so much respect for how Keir Starmer has changed the Labour Party and I have been fighting so hard to win this seat and change the country alongside him.
‘However, it is right that the party upholds the highest standards for its Parliamentary candidates – just as the public expects the highest standards from any party hoping to serve in government. I deeply regret what I have done and will take the consequences of this stupid error of judgement on the chin.’
A party spokeswoman said after being contacted by the Gambling Commission the party acted immediately to administratively suspend him pending investigation.
She added: ‘With Keir Starmer as leader, the Labour party upholds the highest standards for our parliamentary candidates, as the public rightly expects from any party hoping to serve, which is why we have acted immediately in this case.’
