A former UK Conservative MP and close aide to Rishi Sunak has been charged with a gambling offence over alleged bets placed on the timing of the 2024 general election.
Craig Williams, the former MP for Montgomeryshire in Wales, is among 15 individuals charged under the Gambling Act 2005 following an investigation by the Gambling Commission into suspected cheating.
The Commission confirmed the investigation, launched in June 2024, focused on individuals alleged to have used confidential information—specifically knowledge of the proposed election date—to gain an advantage in betting markets. Such actions fall under Section 42 of the Gambling Act and constitute a criminal offence.
Among those also facing charges are Laura Saunders, the former Conservative candidate for Bristol North West, and her partner Tony Lee, who served as the party’s director of campaigning. Nick Mason, a Conservative councillor and the party’s former chief data officer, is also among those named.
The revelations of alleged insider betting rocked the Conservative Party during the 2024 general election campaign. Williams was dropped as a candidate and subsequently lost his seat to Labour on July 4. Saunders was also unsuccessful in her election bid, losing to Labour’s Darren Jones, now Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said that staff members currently employed by the party who have been charged will be suspended immediately. “These incidents took place in May last year.
Our party is now under new leadership and is cooperating fully with the Gambling Commission to ensure the investigation concludes swiftly and transparently,” the spokesperson added.
Labour Party Chair Ellie Reeves called the charges “a very serious development,” saying: “The British people will expect that anyone found guilty of wrongdoing faces the full force of the law.
Kemi Badenoch must make clear that anyone found guilty of using insider information to cheat the system has no place in the Conservative Party. No ifs, no buts.”
A separate investigation by the Metropolitan Police into a small number of related cases concluded in August 2024 without any charges being brought.
Full List of Individuals Charged:
- Simon Chatfield, 51
- Russell George, 50
- Amy Hind, 34
- Anthony Hind, 36
- Jeremy Hunt, 55 (not the former Chancellor)
- Thomas James, 38
- Charlotte Lang, 36
- Anthony Lee, 47
- Iain Makepeace, 47
- Nick Mason, 51
- Paul Place, 53
- Laura Saunders, 37
- James Ward, 40
- Craig Williams, 39
- Jacob Willmer, 39
