UK Elections: Sunak's Officer Arrested Over Alleged Election Betting

Improve the News Foundation -
0:00
/1861

Facts

  • The UK's Gambling Commission is investigating Conservative candidate Laura Saunders and her husband, Tony Lee, over alleged illegal bets about the general election's timing.1
  • Lee, the Conservative Party's director of campaigning, has taken a leave of absence while the Commission conducts its investigation.2
  • This comes after Tory candidate Craig Williams, a former parliamentary aide to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was accused of betting £100 ($127) on a July election three days before the date had been announced.3
  • Previously, the Metropolitan Police had detained one of Sunak's close protection officers over similar allegations before releasing him on bail and referring the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.4
  • The unnamed officer, who belongs to the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection Command, reportedly placed three illegal bets, including a three-figure amount.5
  • Contrary to common law, misconduct in public office is a criminal offense. A suspect must have willfully and purposely committed the act during their official duties to be found guilty.6

Sources: 1Guardian (a), 2Associated Press, 3BBC News, 4The Telegraph, 5Sky News and 6Guardian (b).

Narratives

  • Labour narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast. The Tories have chosen a marvelous time to expose their corrupt nature. If being on track to achieve their worst election results in a century wasn't enough, high-level parliamentarians have now added criminal acts into the mix. Sunak was already prepared to leave office as a disgraced former prime minister, and now he'll do so with yet another stain on his government's record.
  • Tory narrative, as provided by X.com. These handful of politicians don't represent their party or their law-abiding colleagues. As Sunak was working hard to lead the Tories into a tight race, Williams, Saunders, and this officer selfishly made his job harder. If the Gambling Commission finds these allegations to be true, those at fault should be rejected by all Conservatives.
  • Cynical narrative, as provided by POLITICO.eu. Unfortunately for the British, the Labour Party doesn't seem eager to fix the UK's corruption problems should they win the election. The party has backtracked on several of its previously proposed ethics policies, from a five-year ban on working as consultants after leaving office to barring current MPs from working second jobs. Both parties seem to enjoy using their public status to enrich themselves.

Predictions