The British Conservative Party was rocked by a gambling scandal amid the election campaign that points to a defeat for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party.
UK news agency PA Media reported on Thursday (20) that Conservative candidate Laura Saunders faces an investigation into alleged betting crimes.
The BBC reported that Saunders is being investigated on what day the parliamentary elections, which take place on July 4, would be called.
Before running for office, Saunders worked for the Conservative Party. British media also reported that she is married to Tony Lee, campaign director for the Conservative Party.
Lee took a leave of absence from his role, with just two weeks until the vote, according to the BBC.
Saunders declined to comment on the matter.
A Conservative Party spokesperson told CNN in a statement: “We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission regarding a small number of individuals. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it would not be appropriate to comment further until any process has been completed.”
Saunders is the second Conservative candidate to be investigated by the UK Gambling Commission.
Craig Williams, who worked as an adviser to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in parliament, is said to have bet £100 – almost £700 – on the July election just three days before the Prime Minister officially made the announcement.
Williams told the BBC last week: “I clearly made a huge error in judging what is right and I apologise. I will not expand on (my) statement because it is an independent process. The Gambling Commission is looking at it now.”
The story got worse for Sunak on Wednesday (19) after it was reported that a police officer working in the British Prime Minister’s security team was also being investigated.
London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement that: “The matter was immediately referred to officers at the Met’s Professional Standards Directorate who opened an investigation, and the officer has also been removed from operational duties.”
The opposition Labor Party said the scandal was just the latest example of the Conservative Party’s pattern of behavior, in reference to the way lucrative government contracts were handed out to people associated with the Conservative Party during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This stinks. And the public will come to their own conclusions. It’s not a good look,” a Labor Party source told CNN .
Sunak and the Conservatives have trailed in the polls and lost to the Labor Party since November 2021.
The Conservatives are set to suffer a historic defeat on July 4th. It would be the first time the Labor Party has come to power since 1997 and would end 14 years of controversial Conservative Party rule.
The results will not be known until July 5th. If Sunak loses the election, he will step down on the same day.
Source: CNN Brasil
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