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London’s Metropolitan Police is to take over “a small number” of investigations into UK election betting, raising the possibility of political figures facing charges of misconduct in public office.
The Met announced the step late on Wednesday amid mounting speculation about the number of people potentially caught up in the scandal and the nature of the offences the police and the Gambling Commission might be investigating.
At least five people connected with the Conservative party are under investigation by the gambling regulator over bets on the date of the general election placed before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on May 22 that it would take place on July 4.
At least six Met officers are also being investigated, over similar bets.
Until Wednesday, all the investigations had been in the hands of the Gambling Commission except for one involving a police officer who had been a member of Sunak’s close protection squad. The officer, who has not been named, was arrested on June 17 on suspicion of misconduct in public office and is the only person arrested so far.
The Met said on Wednesday evening that the commission would continue to lead on investigations in which the alleged offences had been committed solely under the Gambling Act.
Legal experts have said any betting using inside information could be a breach of Section 42 of the act, a generalised prohibition against cheating.
However, the Met added: “Met detectives will lead on investigating a small number of cases to assess whether the alleged offending goes beyond Gambling Act offences to include others, such as misconduct in public office.”
The force indicated that the misconduct in public office investigations would not focus solely on police officers, raising the possibility that some political figures could face such charges.
The maximum penalty for the Gambling Act offences is two years’ imprisonment. A conviction for misconduct in public office can bring a sentence of life imprisonment, although such a punishment is unlikely over the betting scandal. Misconduct in public office is a “common law” offence that has developed over centuries of legal practice.
The Gambling Commission has brought only one conviction solely for cheating under the Gambling Act since it came into force in 2007. The commission normally seeks often to work with other bodies, such as the Crown Prosecution Service or police. It also sometimes restricts enforcement to voiding any bets thought to have been made as a result of cheating, rather than bringing a prosecution.
The Gambling Commission’s investigation first came to light on June 12 when Craig Williams, then the Conservative candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, announced the regulator had approached him about his bet on the election date. He has said what he called a “flutter” was “an error of judgment, not an offence”.
Sunak on Tuesday suspended both Williams and Laura Saunders, candidate for Bristol North West, as official Conservative candidates over their involvement in the affair.
The Gambling Commission has consistently refused to identify how many people it is investigating over their bets or their identities.