MS suspended from Welsh Conservatives over gambling offences
Emily Price
Senedd Member for Montgomeryshire Russell George has been suspended from the Welsh Conservatives after being charged with gambling related offences.
Mr George is one of 15 people who have been charged after bets were placed on the timing of the 2024 general election, the Gambling Commission revealed on Monday (April 14).
He is among a number of people linked to the Conservative Party reported to have made bets on the election date, which was called by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak.
Neutral
Tom James – Director of the Welsh Conservative Party – has also been charged with the same gambling offences alongside former Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams.
Laura Saunders, who was Tory candidate for Bristol North West at the election and is married to the Conservative’s campaign chief, has also been charged with the same offence.
In a statement, the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar said: “Having been informed that Russell George MS has been charged with gambling related offences, I have taken the decision to suspend him from the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd.
“The suspension is a neutral act pending the outcome of the justice process. There will be no further comment at this time.”
Offence
Mr George returned to the Tory front bench in October last year after a probe was launched into a bet on the General Election date.
At the time he said he was, “happy that I didn’t do anything incorrect, and I’m just really happy to continue my job in the Senedd”.
He was recently granted incumbency rights to stand in the number one spot on the Welsh Conservative list for the new Gwynedd Maldwyn super constituency at the 2026 Senedd election.
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TorySleaze is so common we may as well merge them into one word, then forget them at the Senedd elections next year as we did with the Westminster elections last year.
Conservative and Corruption are interchangable it seems. Those crooked Tory MSs involved in criminality should face a custodial sentence & fine. And it’s no good Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar “suspending” those involved. They must be recalled by their constituents triggering a by-election resulting in the loss of their seat. We need to see that our Senedd Cymru has higher standards than Westminster.
There is no recall system in the Senedd and if there was it would not be triggered until an MS was found guilty of an offence.
Please can we remember that there is a presumption of innocence until such time (and if) a conviction follows.
Unless the person in question is the first black leader in Europe. Then due process is optional.
Proverbs 15:27…integrity
Proverbs 17:19…loop holes !
See the Arch Oilman Welby…
And I thought Mr George was one of the more honest and reasonable of the Tory Senedd members, and yet now here he is, accused of a form of fraud.
Perhaps I should have known better! LBC listeners on weekday mornings might recall ‘the curse of O’Brien’!
Same old Tory, same old story.
I wonder if they are now betting on getting bumped out at the next Senedd GE. I suppose the odds are not very attractive but it’s a safe bet.