Ex-Welsh Tory MP pleads guilty over election betting scandal

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

A former Welsh Conservative MP and one-time aide to former prime minister Rishi Sunak has admitted cheating by using confidential information to place bets on the date of the 2024 general election.

Craig Williams, 41, who represented Cardiff North between 2015 and 2017 before serving as MP for Montgomeryshire from 2019 until his defeat in 2024, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

Williams, of Llanfair Caereinion, near Welshpool, admitted using privileged information obtained through his role in Downing Street to place three bets on the timing of the election.

The court heard he staked £250, £100 and £22.50 after attending planning meetings in Downing Street where the election date was discussed.

Prosecutor Zoe Johnson KC said Williams had been “given a privileged position” as parliamentary private secretary to Mr Sunak and had access to highly confidential information.

“He has now accepted by his plea that he used highly sensitive and confidential information to place bets and to profit,” she told the court.

When the betting scandal first emerged during the 2024 general election campaign, Williams admitted making a “huge error of judgment” after it was revealed he had placed a £100 bet on the election date.

The controversy overshadowed his campaign to retain his seat and the Conservatives withdrew their support for his candidacy. He went on to lose the newly created Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr constituency as the party suffered heavy losses across the UK.

Three further cheating charges, which Williams had denied, will now be dropped when he is sentenced.

Williams will not be sentenced until after the trials of his co-defendants, which are due to begin in September 2027 and January 2028.

Among the 13 defendants who pleaded not guilty on Monday are former Montgomeryshire Senedd member Russell George and the Welsh Conservatives’ former director, Thomas James.

The Gambling Commission brought the charges following Operation Scott, an investigation into bets placed by politicians and Conservative Party officials on the timing of the 2024 general election.

Also pleading guilty on Monday was Amy Hind, the wife of Conservative deputy digital director Anthony Hind, who admitted cheating over bets on the election date.

Anthony Hind had a charge against him dropped by prosecutors and is due to be sentenced on October 23.