Sunak's ex-aide among 15 charged over election bets

A former Tory MP and aide to Rishi Sunak is among 15 people charged with offences relating to bets placed on the timing of the 2024 general election, the Gambling Commission has announced.

- ANDY GREGORY ARCHIE MITCHELL

The scandal over the alleged placing of bets on the timing of the election prior to Mr Sunak's surprise decision to call the national ballot early engulfed the Conservative Party's campaign last summer.

While the Metropolitan Police dropped its own investigation last August, saying the bar for misconduct in public office had not been met, the Gambling Commission announced yesterday that it had brought charges against 15 individuals.

Among those were Mr Sunak's former parliamentary private secretary Craig Williams, the former Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire, who was charged with cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, which is a criminal offence.

Russell George, the Tory Senedd member for Montgomeryshire, was also charged, along with the Conservative Party's chief data officer, Nick Mason and the party's chief marketing officer, Simon Chatfield.