The Metropolitan Police has closed its investigation into allegations of insider betting around the date of the general election without anyone being charged.
The force said that “the high bar for Misconduct in Public Office to be proven was not met” but the Gambling Commission may progress with charges under the Gambling Act.
In the run up to the July 4 election, allegations were made that illicit bets were placed by MPs, candidates, party members and police officers, some of whom may have had insider knowledge about the date the vote was being held before then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak publicly announced it on May 22.
Up to 15 Conservative candidates and officials were believed to be under investigation by the Gambling Commission and their party before the Met Police launched its probe.
Six police officers, including a member of Mr Sunak’s protection team, were also added to the Gambling Commission's investigation after the force passed their names over in late June.
Craig Williams, one of Mr Sunak's closest aides and the then candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, reportedly placed a £100 bet on a July election just three days before the PM announced the date.
He was one of the first people revealed to be under investigation by the Gambling Commission.
After the Conservatives withdrew support for his candidacy, Mr Williams insisted he had "committed a serious error of judgement, not an offence" and was “cooperating with routine inquiries from the Gambling Commission”.
A Met Police spokesman said: “The decision for the Met to explore whether such offences applied was taken following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Gambling Commission as part of a coordinated, joint approach.
“Only a small number of cases were identified as fitting into the second category. The relevant evidence in those cases was obtained and reviewed by detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command before early advice was sought from the CPS.
“Based on the assessment of the evidence and the advice from the CPS, it was determined that the high bar for Misconduct in Public Office to be proven was not met.
“It has therefore been agreed between the Met and the Gambling Commission that the more appropriate criminal offences to progress with would be those under the Gambling Act.
“The Met’s involvement in the investigation of any criminal matters will now come to an end and the cases will be passed back to the Gambling Commission for further investigation.”
Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “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.
“Our investigation continues to progress and we have interviewed several suspects under caution. We are continuing to interview a number of witnesses, who are co-operating with this criminal investigation, as well as gathering further documentary and electronic evidence.
“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.”
