The Conservative Party has withdrawn its support from candidates Craig Williams and Laura Saunders following allegations they placed bets using insider information on the date of the general election.
On Tuesday, a Conservative Party spokesman said: “As a result of ongoing internal inquiries, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as parliamentary candidates at the forthcoming general election.
Attempts to visit their websites are now redirected to the official Conservative Party website.
Last week Mr. Williams told the BBC, “I clearly made a huge error of judgment, that’s for sure, and I apologise.”
“The Gambling Commission are looking at it now,” he added.
On Friday, in a statement released on Ms. Saunders’s behalf, Nama Zarroug, a solicitor at Astraea Linskills, said: “As the Conservative Party has already stated, investigations are ongoing.
“Ms Saunders will be co-operating with the Gambling Commission and has nothing further to add.
“It is inappropriate to conduct any investigation of this kind via the media, and doing so risks jeopardising the work of the Gambling Commission and the integrity of its investigation.
On the same day, a Gambling Commission spokesman told The Epoch Times by email: “Currently, the commission is investigating the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election.
“This is an ongoing investigation, and the commission cannot provide any further details at this time.
“We are not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals involved in this investigation.”
The allegations that political insiders profited from the election date have overshadowed the Conservative Party’s general election campaign.
Rival parties criticised Mr. Sunak for not taking action earlier.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said, “Why didn’t that happen a week ago?”
Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth said: “It is yet another example of Rishi Sunak’s staggeringly weak leadership, that it has taken him nearly two weeks to see what was obvious to everyone else.
“The Conservatives who sought to line their own pockets by betting on the election date are not fit to be candidates for Parliament.
“But the prime minister would have to answer why he hasn’t done it, I haven’t got inside information on why the prime minister hasn’t done it.”
The Epoch Times contacted Mr. Williams and Ms. Saunders for comment.
