Newsplaining: Gambling scandal that has made Rishi Sunak ‘incredibly angry’

From announcing early elections to criticism over Sunak’s controversial early announcement of the election date to his premature departure from D-Day commemorations in France for which he later apologised, another scandal involving close people of the party may turn out to be disastrous for Sunak

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. (Photo credit: AFP)

Why is it in the news?

As the UK looks to host elections on 4 July, a new controversy seems to hit Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party. The controversy involves allegations surrounding many of the members of the Conservative party on placing bets on the election date using insider information.

The UK’s Gambling Commission and law enforcement has now opened an investigation related to these charges.

Answering a question on BBC Question Time leaders’ special televised debate, Sunak said, “I was incredibly angry, incredibly angry, to learn of these allegations. It’s a really serious matter. It’s right that they’re being investigated properly by the relevant law enforcement authorities, including a criminal investigation by the police.”

He further added, “And I want to be crystal clear that if anyone has broken the rules, they should face the full force of the law. That’s what those investigations are there to do. And I hope that they do their work as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.”

What is it?

The start of the scandal can be clocked to be the moment when Rishi Sunak announced that the country would be going for polls earlier in July and not during winters as many had expected.

This resulted in anticipation but also in conspiracies and people started to look for probable reasons behind the decision. This eventually led to betting on the election date.

Surprisingly, many insiders in the Conservative party itself started to place bets on when the election would occur. 

While such betting is not criminal in the UK, what is, is placing bets using insider information. It is this that has put the Conservative parties members and their associates who were involved in the betting come under scrutiny.

A major player in the scandal is reportedly Laura Saunders, who is running for the Bristol North West seat. She is under investigation by the Gambling Commission. Of importance is the fact that she’s also married to Conservative party’s campaign director, Tony Lee.

One of Rishi Sunak’s personal bodyguards is also under investigation in the case.

The scandal comes at a difficult time for Sunak as he is currently engaged in his Conservative campaign with a low popularity. From announcing early elections to criticism over Sunak’s controversial early announcement of the election date to his premature departure from D-Day commemorations in France for which he later apologised, another scandal involving close people of the party may turn out to be disastrous for Sunak.

Misconduct in public office is a criminal offence and the Gambling Commission is leading the investigation into the betting offences. The London Metropolitan Police force, after being contacted by the Gambling Commission, referred the matter to its Directorate of Professional Standards and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).