Former Tory MP Craig Williams Pleads Guilty to General Election Betting Offence

Craig Williams, the former Conservative Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire, has pleaded guilty to placing a bet on the date of the July 2024 general election. The admission came at a hearing at the Magistrates' Court in London. Williams had served as a parliamentary private secretary to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Williams placed a £100 wager on the election date just three days before Mr Sunak announced it. The Gambling Commission, which investigated the matter, stated that Williams had 'used confidential information to facilitate his bet'.

The court heard that Williams is set to face a two-year exclusion from betting. Sentencing has been deferred to a later date. This incident follows similar allegations involving other Conservative figures, including Mr Sunak’s parliamentary aide Laura Saunders and her husband Tony Lee, the Conservative Party's director of campaigning, both of whom are also under investigation by the Gambling Commission for alleged betting offences related to the election date.