Cleverly was ‘furious’ to learn of election betting scandal as he insists government will take probe findings seriously
26 June 2024, 20:34
Home Secretary pressed on his party's cooperation with the Gambling Commission's investigation
James Cleverly has told LBC that he was ‘furious’ after learning about alleged election bets being made within his party as he insisted the government is taking the gambling regulator's investigation seriously.
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Pressed by LBC’s Iain Dale on his reaction to the betting scandal, Mr Cleverly said: “I was furious, I know the Prime Minister was furious that was a view that was echoed across the party.
“We’ve said we’re not going to comment on the Gambling Commission’s investigation and we will stick by that.
“But we did conduct an internal review, and quite rightly in my mind, the behaviour of the individuals fell well short of what we expect of our candidates which is why we’ve withdrawn the support for them at this election.
“Public service is about serving the public, which should be at the forefront of people’s minds, particularly during a General Election campaign.
He added: “I was more than a little bit frustrated and angry about this behaviour.”
Quizzed further on the arrest of Rishi Sunak’s specialist protection officer, but advisors potentially escaping criminal charges, Mr Cleverly said: “The professional standard’s regime within policing is incredibly important, we give police officers quite very rightly so enhanced powers, therefore the confidence in the police is incredibly important and so we have a very tough professional standards regime.
“The application of that regime is part of the independent of police activity, but we have taken action against both the officials and the candidates.”
Asked if he could give an assurance that all potential evidence would be retained and nothing deleted: “I have no doubt at all that he [Rishi Sunak] will have sent the message with no ambiguity that we take this seriously, we must be seen to take this seriously, we will cooperate and as I say, we have already taken action on the cases we know about.”
At least five Conservatives are being investigated by the Gambling Commission as part of its inquiry into wagers on the timing of the July 4 poll.
It comes after the Home Secretary said earlier on Wednesday that the ever-deepening betting row in Westminster “distracts the conversation away from the really important issues”.
He also declined to say whether the rules around gambling on politics should be changed.
Mr Cleverly said he was "furious that people who should have been motivated exclusively by public service" wagered on the election, but insisted on awaiting the outcome of the Gambling Commission probe before making any decisions on rule changes.
It comes after it was reported earlier on Wednesday that up to 15 Conservative Party candidates and officials are being investigated for alleged betting.
Speaking on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Mr Stride said that he did not know how many people were being looked into but "clear and robust action" would be taken against those who are found to have broken the rules.
When asked about whether there could be more involved, Mr Stride said: "I don’t know what the number is, what the number may or may not end up as or which parties might be involved."
He added: "I don’t know where all of this will lead, it could be that there will be others across different political parties going forward.
"What I do know is that, in the case of those Conservative candidates who are being investigated by the Gambling Commission, they have been suspended, they are not supported as Conservative candidates at this election and the Prime Minister has been very clear that in the event they are found to have broken the rules by the Gambling Commission they will be expelled from the Conservative party. Very clear and robust action."
Watch again: Nick Ferrari is joined by Mel Stride | 26/06/24
On Tuesday, cabinet minister Alister Jack admitted to placing three bets on the election date, one of which was successful.
However, Mr Jack is not being investigated by the regulator because he staked the money earlier in the year, before the period covered by the watchdog's probe into the alleged use of inside information.
He denied previous reports in which he claimed during an interview conducted shortly after the snap election that he had won £2,100 on a bet.
A Labour candidate was also drawn into the ever-deepening scandal on Tuesday night after it emerged that Kevin Craig was suspended for betting against himself in the upcoming election.
He apologised on Twitter and admitted he likes placing bets for "fun" adding that he planned to give any winnings to charity.
His comments come as the final debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer is held on Wednesday evening.
