June 23rd 2024.
According to reports from British media on Sunday, the chief data officer of Britain's Conservative Party has decided to take a leave of absence. This follows a series of allegations that members of the governing party have been using confidential information to place bets on the date of Britain's upcoming national election on July 4th.
The Sunday Times and other sources have revealed that Nick Mason is the fourth Conservative official to be investigated by the UK's Gambling Commission for allegedly betting on the election date before it was officially announced. The Times has even stated that multiple bets were made, with potential winnings amounting to thousands of pounds.
Two other Conservative candidates in the election, Laura Saunders and Craig Williams, are also being looked into by the gambling watchdog. In fact, Saunders' husband, Tony Lee, who serves as the Conservative director of campaigning, has also taken a leave of absence amidst allegations that he too was involved in the betting scandal.
In a separate incident, a member of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's police detail was arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. This occurred after the gambling regulator confirmed that they are investigating potential offenses related to the election date.
The scandal has caused significant damage to Sunak's Conservative Party, just two weeks before the national election. The party, which has been in power for 14 years, is widely expected to lose to the opposition Labour Party. In response to the allegations, Sunak expressed his outrage and stated that anyone found guilty of breaking the law should be expelled from the party.
On May 22nd, Sunak had announced that the parliamentary elections would be held on July 4th. The date had been kept secret and came as a surprise to many, as it was originally expected to take place in the fall.
Saunders, who is running for a seat in Bristol, has promised to fully cooperate with the investigation. Williams, who was Sunak's parliamentary private secretary and a candidate for reelection, has admitted that he too is being investigated by the Gambling Commission for placing a £100 bet on a July election before the date was announced.
Michael Gove, a senior Conservative minister, has condemned the alleged betting and compared it to the "Partygate" scandal that led to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's removal in 2022. This controversy had severely damaged the public's trust in the Conservative Party after it was revealed that politicians and officials had been flouting lockdown rules by holding parties and gatherings in government buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
"It seems like there's one rule for them and one rule for us," Gove stated in an interview with the Sunday Times. "That's the most potentially damaging thing."
Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, has also spoken out against the scandal, stating that "people are sick and tired of this sleaze." She has called on Sunak to intervene and order an official inquiry.
The Conservative Party has declined to comment on the ongoing investigations.
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