Cabinet Minister Who Bet On Election Date Did Nothing Wrong, Says Mel Stride
A Tory minister who placed bets on the date of the general election did nothing wrong, one of his cabinet colleagues has insisted.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has admitted he laid three wagers, but only one of them came up.
He was forced to issue a statement after the BBC reported that he had told them he won £2,100 on the July poll - a claim he later said was “a joke”.
In a statement, Jack said: “I placed two unsuccessful bets on the date of the general election and one successful one. I put two bets on in March of £5 each for an election to be held in May and June respectively. In April, I put £20 at 5 to 1 on an election being held between July and September.
“I had no knowledge of the date of the election until the day it was called.”
The revelation came just hours after the Conservatives ditched two candidates under investigation from the Gambling Commission over claims they also bet on the election date.
Meanwhile, Labour has withdrawn its support for one of its candidates after it emerged he is being investigated for placing a bet on himself to lose.
On Sky News this morning, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said it was important to draw a distinctions between the actions of Alister Jack and the other Conservatives being probed.
Presenter Wilfred Frost said: “I just wonder whether any politician should be placing a bet on something that they do broadly have influence over, or certainly comes into their sphere of influence, in the same way that footballers are banned from placing bets even on a fixture that their team isn’t involved in.
“Is that where we should end up, that politicians should not bet at all on politics?”
Stride replied: “I think you are totally right to identify that there are different circumstances around different people.
“You’ve got a Labour candidate for example who was actually placing bets against himself on the basis that he would lose the election that he’s fighting, which is pretty extraordinary.
“Alister Jack is a completely different circumstance and it appears that no wrongdoing has occurred in his case.”
BBC’s Newsnight programme last night reported that the Gambling Commission is investigating 15 Tory candidates and officials over betting on the election date.
Rishi Sunak has said anyone found guilty of doing so will be kicked out of the Tory Party.