Ex-Tory MP among 15 charged over bets

The former Conservative MP Craig Williams is among 15 people, including several other senior Tories, charged by the Gambling Commission for alleged cheating connected to bets based on the date of the 2024 UK general election.

- Peter Walker

Williams was the parliamentary private secretary of Rishi Sunak and the MP for Montgomeryshire but lost the support of the Conservative party after a Guardian story about alleged bets placed on a July election just days before the date was announced.

Among others charged, according to a Gambling Commission statement, was Russell George, a Tory member of the Welsh parliament who represents the same area as Williams did. Others charged include Laura Saunders, the Conservative candidate for Bristol North West in July, who also lost party support after the investigation emerged; Tony Lee, the Conservatives' campaigns director, who is married to Saunders; and Nick Mason, who was the Tories' chief data officer at the time.

Some of the others charged have current or past links to the party.

The Welsh Conservative leader, Darren Millar, said George had been suspended from the Conservative group in the Senedd, which he described as "a neutral act pending the outcome of the justice process".