UK PM Rishi Sunak's party member probed for placing bets on election dates

NEW DELHI: Britain's gambling regulators on Saturday probed another official from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party over the allegations of placing bets on the dates of the general election ahead of its announcement.

According to a report in Sunday Times, the accused is identified as Nick Mason, chief data officer at the Conservative Party.

"As instructed by the Gambling Commission, we are not permitted to discuss any matters related to any investigation with the subject or any other persons,” a Conservative Party spokesman said.

However, the Gambling Commission has not confirmed the names of those under investigation. In a response to a request for comment on the Sunday Times report, a commission spokesperson said it would not provide details of its probe, including the identity of any individuals it is investigating.

This comes after the UK's Gambling Commission is investigating two conservative election candidates and the party's director of campaigning over the bets on the date of July 4 elections.

One of the Conservative candidates named in the scandal, Craig Williams, has already apologised for an error of judgment, and the party's director of campaigning Tony Lee has taken a leave of absence.

A police officer working in a special protection unit has also been arrested over alleged bets on the election date.

The recent row over betting has further damaged Sunak's efforts of catching up with the Labour Party, which is leading in the opinion polls in the run-up to the elections.

Sunak said on Thursday he was "incredibly angry" to hear about the allegations against his party colleagues, calling them a "really serious matter."