Sir Philip Davies latest Tory caught up in gambling row ‘after betting £8,000 against himself’
Another senior Tory has become embroiled in the election betting scandal after allegedly placing an £8,000 bet that he would lose his seat.
Sir Philip Davies is accused of betting he would lose his Shipley seat in West Yorkshire at the upcoming election.
“What’s it got to do with you whether I did or didn’t,” the Conservative candidate, defending a majority of 6,242, told The Sun, adding that the bet was “nobody’s business”.
“I hope to win. I’m busting a gut to win. I expect to lose. In the 2005 election, I busted a gut to win. I expected to lose. I had a bet on myself to lose in the 2005 election, and my bet went down the pan,” Sir Philip told the newspaper.
“And if anyone’s alleging I have done anything illegal, they’re very welcome to allege it, but I’m afraid I haven’t.”
Sir Philip is the second parliamentary candidate accused of betting against himself in the general election, the other being Labour’s Kevin Craig.
Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.
The Gambling Commission is investigating at least five Conservatives and at least seven Met Police officers as part of its inquiry into wagers on the timing of the 4 July poll.
The Met Police said it is leading an investigation on a "small number of cases" related to the gambling row to "assess whether the alleged offending goes beyond Gambling Act offences to include others such as misconduct in public office".
"The Met is not taking over the investigation into bets on the timing of the general election,” a spokesperson said.
"The Gambling Commission will continue to lead the investigation into cases where the alleged offending is limited to breaches of the Gambling Act.”
The gambling row deepened this week after Scotland secretary Alister Jack admitted to placing three bets on the timing of the election.
The minister denied having broken any rules, however, and he is not being investigated by the regulator because he staked the money earlier in the year.
Mr Jack said he placed a £20 bet in April on an election being held between July and September, but that he had no knowledge of when it would be called until the day Mr Sunak fired the starting gun on May 22.
He said he placed two unsuccessful bets of £5 in March on the election being held in May and June respectively, then made the third wager in April.
Labour has also been drawn into the controversy. The party suspended Mr Craig after he was investigated by the regulator for betting that he would lose his Central Suffolk and North Ipswich seat.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer clashed over the Westminster betting row in their final televised head-to-head debate ahead of the election on Wednesday.
The Labour leader accused Mr Sunak of being “bullied” into taking action in the scandal, while Mr Sunak repeatedly warned voters not to “surrender” to Labour’s tax and migration plans in the heated exchange.
One of Mr Sunak's police protection officers was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in relation to bets placed on the timing of the election and is on restricted duties.
At least seven officers, including members of the Royalty and Specialist Command and Parliamentary and Diplomatic Command, are being investigated by the Gambling Commission.
On Tuesday, the Conservative Party said it was pulling support for two election candidates, Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, who were under investigation by the Gambling Commission over the alleged betting. But because nominations have closed, both politicians will remain on the ballot paper.
Home secretary James Cleverly said he was "furious that people who should have been motivated exclusively by public service" wagered on the election, but insisted on awaiting the outcome of Gambling Commission probe before making any decisions on rule changes.
Sir Keir said his reaction to Mr Craig showed assertive leadership "in a sharp contrast to Rishi Sunak, who took days and days and days before he took action".
He told broadcasters: "I've never placed a political bet, I only bet on the horses. So that's where I stand on this.
"And I don't think that we should be lured into thinking this is a problem with the rules, it's a problem with politicians.
"You can see from the reaction of the public that they know straight away that what's been going on in the Tory party, this sort of insider dealing, is wrong."
Business minister Kevin Hollinrake said on Thursday he had put a bet on the Conservatives to win the election, but gambling on the result in Thirsk and Malton where he is a candidate in the general election would be “wrong”.
Asked whether he had bet on a Tory victory, Mr Hollinrake said: “Yes, I did. Not my seat, I think that would be wrong.”
He added: “This situation has definitely opened up a debate that we should have a proper debate about and decide whether it’s right or wrong that people have a bet on things they are involved in.”
