Conservative candidate implicated in gambling investigation is married to party campaign chief

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A Conservative parliamentary candidate under investigation for betting on the timing of the UK general election is married to the party’s campaign director, according to party officials.

Laura Saunders, a Conservative Party staffer in Bristol North West, is being investigated by the Gambling Commission over election-related bets, according to people familiar with the matter.

Separately, two party officials said Sanders is the wife of Conservative Party campaign director Tony Lee.

The party is already far behind Labour in the polls and is now embroiled in scandal over its bets on the timing of the election.

The gambling regulator last week launched an investigation into Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide and arrested a police officer from the PM’s protection team Earlier this week.

The Conservative Party said: “We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission regarding a small number of individual concerns. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it would be inappropriate to comment further until any process has concluded.”

Sanders and Lee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove told the BBC: “If anyone is betting on inside information, that is profoundly wrong.” He added that he “can’t go into too much detail while the investigation is ongoing” but that in principle the behaviour was “reprehensible”.

The revelations are likely to further damage the Conservatives’ already struggling re-election bid, with multiple opinion polls predicting a heavy defeat for Sunak and his party. July 4thl. The Conservative campaign has been hit by Sunak’s own missteps, including ending the D-Day commemorations early.

Sanders has worked for the party since 2015, most recently helping to coordinate its international work with other center-right parties.

Lee has previously described himself online as a political activist with “over 20 years of campaigning experience” and said he led the successful campaign that led to the re-election of former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street in 2021. Lee’s LinkedIn page was inactive on Thursday.

He was appointed director of campaigns by Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who highlighted Lee as the “mastermind” of Streeter’s campaign at the Labour Party’s Spring Forum in March 2022.

The Gambling Commission said it was “investigating the possibility that illegalities had been committed in relation to the election date”. It added: “This is an ongoing investigation and the Commission is unable to provide any further details at this time.”

Craig Williams, who served as Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary and was one of his most trusted aides, is also under investigation for placing a £100 bet on the July election just days before his boss announced the date for the vote.

Sunak said he was “deeply disappointed” with Williams, who admitted he had made a “huge error of judgement” by “taking a gamble” on the election date.

Williams declined to say whether he made bets based on insider information, and Sunak declined to confirm whether Williams knew the date of the vote, insisting it was inappropriate to comment while an independent investigation was ongoing.

London Metropolitan Police on Monday Arrested a police officer Sunak’s personal security detail has been criticised for allegedly placing bets on the timing of the election.

The Met confirmed a member of its Royal and Specialist Conservation Unit had been detained “on suspicion of betting” but did not say who he was responsible for protecting. A source familiar with the matter confirmed he was a member of Sunak’s conservation team.