UK: Former Conservative MP among 15 charged over alleged election date betting using insider information

Fifteen individuals, including Former Conservative MP Craig Williams and several senior figures connected to the party, have been charged by the UK Gambling Commission for allegedly placing bets on the timing of the 2024 general election using confidential information.

The charges follow an investigation launched in June 2024, after suspicions emerged that politically connected individuals may have exploited inside knowledge of the election date, before it was announced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as July 4, to place advantageous bets. 

The case centers on allegations of cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, a criminal offense that carries penalties of up to two years in prison or a fine if prosecuted in a criminal court. However, as the case is currently filed with Westminster Magistrates Court, the maximum sentence would be six months' imprisonment or a financial penalty.

Among those charged is Craig Williams, the former MP for Montgomeryshire and Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary at the time. He lost the support of the Conservative Party last year following revelations first reported by The Guardian. 

Also charged is Russell George, a member of the Welsh Parliament representing the same constituency area. George has been suspended from the Conservative group in the Senedd, a move Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar described as “a neutral act pending the outcome of the justice process.”

The Gambling Commission confirmed that the charges relate to bets placed prior to the public announcement of the election date. A spokesperson for the Commission stated: “If someone used confidential information in order to gain an unfair advantage when betting, that may constitute an offence of cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act, which is a criminal offence.”

Other high-profile figures facing charges include Laura Saunders, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Bristol North West; Tony Lee, then director of campaigns for the Conservatives and Saunders’ husband; and Nick Mason, the party’s former chief data officer. Both Lee and Saunders were previously suspended by the party when the investigation became public.

The Commission has also charged Simon Chatfield, a former chief marketing officer for the Conservative Party, and Jeremy Hunt, a former Metropolitan Police officer who had been part of the Prime Minister’s protection team. 

Hunt was one of seven officers reportedly under investigation by the Met, though the police inquiry was ultimately closed in August 2024 with no charges filed by the force. The Gambling Commission's investigation proceeded independently of the one carried out by the Metropolitan Police.

Additional individuals named in the charges include Amy Hind, Anthony Hind, Thomas James, Charlotte Lang, Iain Makepeace, Paul Place, James Ward, and Jacob Willmer. All are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 13, 2025.

In response to the charges, a Conservative Party spokesperson confirmed that all staff implicated had been suspended. “These incidents took place in May last year. Our party is now under new leadership and we are cooperating fully with the Gambling Commission,” the spokesperson said.

Labour’s chair Ellie Reeves described the development as serious and called for consequences if wrongdoing is proven. “The British people will expect that anyone found guilty of wrongdoing faces the full force of the law. Kemi Badenoch must make crystal clear that anyone found guilty of using insider information to cheat the system to try to enrich themselves has no place in the Conservative party,” she said.

Separately, Labour also faced scrutiny over betting-related misconduct last year when Kevin Craig, a candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, was suspended after betting on his own defeat in the election. Craig apologized for what he called “a huge mistake,” and Labour confirmed it would return £100,000 ($132,372) he had donated to the party under Keir Starmer’s leadership.