Scottish Secretary Alister Jack won over £2k betting on date of General Election

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has claimed he won more than £2000 betting on a General Election to take place in July.

The Tory, who is standing down at the election, revealed he has made £2100 after betting on June and July dates for the public vote.

In a statement released earlier today, Jack, who represented the Dumfries and Galloway constituency since 2017, said “did not place any bets on the date of the General Election during May”.

He has claimed one of the bets placed on the election was at odds of 25/1. During an interview with the BBC last week he said the comments were “a joke”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the date of the General Election on the steps of Downing Street on May 22.

Jack said in a statement: “I am very clear that I have never, on any occasion, broken any Gambling Commission rules. I did not place any bets on the date of the general election during May – the period under investigation by the Gambling Commission.

“Furthermore, I am not aware of any family or friends placing bets. I have nothing more to say on this matter.”

A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said: “We are not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals involved in this investigation.”

It came as Sunak pulled support from candidates Craig Williams and Laura Saunders over the election betting row.

He acted after coming under mounting pressure within his party to take a tougher stance on the alleged use of inside information to bet on the timing of the July 4 poll.

In a sign of the wider scope of the Gambling Commission’s investigation, the watchdog passed information to the Metropolitan Police alleging that five more officers had placed bets related to the timing of the poll.

Labour also suspended parliamentary candidate Kevin Craig, who is being investigated by the Gambling Commission after he placed a bet that he would lose the contest for the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency to the Conservatives.

The row has overshadowed the Tory election campaign in recent days as Sunak battles to close his party’s 21-point average poll deficit to Labour.

Williams, who was the Prime Minister’s parliamentary aide, and Saunders who is standing in Bristol North West, will no longer have the support of the party.

Because nominations have closed, Williams – who is standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr – and Saunders will both still be on the ballot paper.

But a Conservative Party spokesman said: “As a result of ongoing internal inquiries, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as parliamentary candidates at the forthcoming General Election.

“We have checked with the Gambling Commission that this decision does not compromise the investigation that they are conducting, which is rightly independent and ongoing.”

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