(London) The British Conservative Party on Tuesday withdrew its support for two of its candidates in the July 4 legislative elections suspected in the fraudulent betting scandal, which also extends to the police with five new officers targeted by the investigation.
For several weeks, the commission responsible for regulating betting has suspected certain people of having taken advantage of privileged information due to their proximity to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to bet on the date on which the elections would be held.
While everyone was expecting it in the fall, the Prime Minister announced on May 22, to everyone’s surprise, that the vote would take place on July 4.
The scandal has accentuated the difficulties of the Conservatives ahead of the elections, in which they are widely expected to lose against the Labor opposition.
The first admitted an “error of judgment” without confirming that he had confidential information.
Accused for days, even in his own camp, of lacking firmness, Rishi Sunak finally made it known on Tuesday that they no longer had the support of the party.
“As a result of the ongoing internal investigation, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams and Laura Saunders as candidates,” a Tory spokesperson said.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer mocked the prime minister’s decision, asking “why didn’t it come a week ago? “.
And the scandal spread further on Tuesday, with the betting regulation commission having transmitted to the London police the names of five officers who had placed bets on the date of the elections.
The commission “continues its investigation. The officers were not arrested, but [the internal directorate responsible for complaints against police officers] was informed,” said a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police.
The officers targeted work in different services, notably the diplomatic and parliamentary protection service, but “none occupies a close protection position,” he said.
An agent from the unit responsible for the protection of personalities was already arrested last week, then released on parole.