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It's legal for politicians to wager on elections, but the
investigation was about whether they used inside information to
gain an unfair advantage. One of the popular bets at the time
was to wager on the date the prime minister would call an
election.
At the time, the conventional wisdom was that Sunak would call
an election in the fall, but he surprised people in May when he
set the election date for July 4th. The announcement was a
disaster as Sunak was drenched in pouring rain outside his
residence and word quickly spread that a handful of people with
connections to the party had placed suspiciously timed bets.
The vote six weeks later ended up being a bloodbath for
Conservatives, as the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Keir
Starmer, swept them out of office for the first time in 14
years.
Williams, who was Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary and
running for reelection, had disclosed he placed a 100-pound
($131) bet on a July election days before the date had been
announced.
“I committed an error of judgment, not an offense, and I want to
reiterate my apology directly to you,” he said in a video posted
on social media in June.
In the election, Williams lost his seat representing an area of
Wales, finishing third.
Others facing charges included Russell George, a Conservative in
the Welsh parliament, Nick Mason, a former chief data officer
for the Tories and Thomas James, the director of the Welsh
Conservatives
Anthony Lee, a former Conservative campaign director, was also
charged alongside his wife, Laura Saunders, who ran
unsuccessfully for a seat in Parliament representing an area of
southwest England.
George was suspended by the Conservative Party after news of the
criminal case.
“The Conservative Party believes that those working in politics
must act with integrity," the party spokesperson said. “Current
members of staff who have been charged are being suspended with
immediate effect."
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