Labour has called on the Conservative Party to answer more questions about one of the Prime Minister’s closest aides placing a bet on the general election date days before it was called.
Craig Williams, who served as Mr Sunak's parliamentary private secretary and is the Conservative candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, has apologised but refused to say whether he knew of the date before placing the bet.
Mr Williams is alleged to have placed a £100 bet on a July polling day some three days before Mr Sunak named the date as July 4, at a Ladbrokes in his constituency.
A probe has since been launched by the Gambling Commission, which reportedly sent a letter to the Prime Minister to notify him of the investigation into one of his closest aides.
In a letter reported by The Guardian newspaper, chair of the Labour Party Anneliese Dodds urged the Tories to remove the whip from Mr Williams if he were to win his seat and wrongdoing is found.
Ms Dodds pointed out the confidential use of information in order to gain an unfair advantage when betting is a potential criminal offence.
She asked: “What was Craig Williams’ role in discussions around the election date, when could Craig Williams have had a reasonable idea that a July election was a realistic possibility and when did the Conservative party know about this bet and the investigation by the Gambling Commission?”
Quizzed by media on Thursday, Mr Sunak declined to say whether Mr Williams knew when polling day would be when he put money on it, saying it would be inappropriate to comment while the Gambling Commission investigates.
Mr Williams has apologised for what he called a “huge error of judgement,” but has declined to comment further, citing the investigation.
Asked about the case while attending the G7 summit in Puglia, the Prime Minister told broadcasters: “It's very disappointing news and you will have seen Craig Williams say that it was a huge error of judgement.
"Now, there's an independent inquiry that is ongoing, which is necessarily confidential, as well as independent. A
“And you'll appreciate that, given that, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment while that's ongoing."
Pressed on what Mr Williams knew at the time of the bet, Mr Sunak repeated that "it wouldn't be right for me to comment" while the probe was being carried out.
Mr Williams said on Wednesday that he was facing a Gambling Commission investigation, writing on social media that he would "fully cooperate" with "some routine inquiries".
