It was the scandal that gripped the UK general election before the ballot box had even opened in July.
A number of ministers, support staff and others with a connection to UK politics were found to have placed bets on the date of the general election before any official announcement had been made.
It’s thought that a leak from within then prime minister Rishi Sunak’s team made the date, which turned out to be July 4, known to those within his close circle of advisors.
Some decided to take advantage financially; a move which could have been described as ‘insider trading’, which is an infringement of the Gambling Act and, therefore, a criminal offence.
However, the Metropolitan Police have now revealed that they have ended their investigation into the alleged misdemeanours. Although that may not yet be the end of the matter….
High Bar
Those embroiled in the scandal have been accused of ‘misconduct in public office’, which is a serious crime proven with a link to abuse of power and responsibility. The highest possible sanction for a ‘MiPO’ offence is lifetime imprisonment.
However, the Metropolitan Police has revealed their findings that nobody involved in the scandal meets the ‘high bar’ for a misconduct in public office charge.
It means that the various individuals involved in the case, including Conservative Party candidates Sir Philip Davies and Laura Saunders, as well as Labour’s Kevin Craig, will face no further investigation – the same is true for a number of parliamentary support staff who had also been accused of betting on the date of the general election.
The scandal also engulfed the police too, with an unnamed individual – employed as the personal protection officer to Sunak – cleared of their misconduct in public office charge.
It’s thought that as many as seven police officers, with knowledge of the general election date prior to its public reveal, also placed bets on the outcome.
Although this brings an end to the Met Police’s own criminal investigation, the Gambling Commission is free to continue its own inquiries in a bid to see if anybody has breached Section 42 of the Gambling Act, which relates to ‘cheating’ in the act of betting.
If found guilty, offenders could face up to two years in prison.
Detective superintendent Ketherine Goodwin, of the Met Police, commented:
“There are still Gambling Act offences to consider and it is appropriate that they are taken forward by investigators from the Gambling Commission who have particular expertise in this field.
“Seven police officers who are alleged to have placed bets are still among those being investigated by the Gambling Commission.”
Paying the Penalty
The Gambling Commission is still looking into whether any of the individuals under investigation are guilty of ‘cheating’ – the broad definition of whether or not Section 42 of the Gambling Act has been breached.
Inside information, as per the regulator’s description, is something known by an individual that is not in the public domain, as a result of their connection to the source of the information. This relates to all betting markets offered by a bookmaker; be it sports, politics or anything else.
The misuse of so-called inside information, when used to deliberately gain an unfair advantage over bookmakers, would fall under the remit of ‘cheating’ as per the Gambling Commission’s definition.
Now, the regulator must decide whether those embroiled in the scandal knew they were being dishonest in placing their bets on the election date, or if they were unaware that they were doing anything wrong.
The Gambling Commission is still in the process of gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses, although they did confirm that they were leading a criminal investigation – with the potential for charges to be brought.
According to the chief executive of the regulator, Andrew Rhodes, a number of suspects have already been interviewed under caution while further evidence is being sought.
“We have remained focused on our criminal investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the general election,” Rhodes confirmed.
“We clearly appreciate the level of public interest there is in this investigation, but in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time, including the name of any person who may be under suspicion, or the total number of suspects.”