THE Metropolitan Police have been passed information from the Gambling Commission alleging that five further police officers placed bets relating to the timing of the General Election. A Met Police spokesperson said: “We previously confirmed the arrest of a Met officer on Monday June 17 for misconduct in public office in relation to bets placed on the timing of the General Election.
“The officer – a police constable from the royalty and specialist protection command – is on restricted duties.
“It is still the case that only one officer is under criminal investigation.
“We have, however, been passed information from the Gambling Commission alleging that five further officers have placed bets related to the timing of the election.
“The Gambling Commission continues to investigate these matters. The officers have not been arrested but the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed.
“The officers are based on the royalty and specialist command, the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command and the central west basic command unit. None of them work in a close protection role.
“Decisions on whether they will be subject to any restrictions will be taken in due course.”
It comes after a member of Rishi Sunak’s protection team was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.
The other officers are based on the Royalty and Specialist Command, the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command and the Central West Basic Command Unit, but none of them work in a close protection role.
Decisions on whether the five officers will be subject to any restrictions will be taken in due course, the Met said.
On Tuesday morning, the Conservative Party pulled its support for two candidates who were also accused of placing bets on the date of the General Election.
Craig Williams and Laura Saunders will still remain on the ballot papers in their respective constituencies but will not enjoy the support of the party.
As well as the parliamentary candidates, two senior Tory officials have taken a leave of absence at a crucial point in the election campaign, after being drawn into the Gambling Commission investigation.
Saunders’s husband Tony Lee, the party’s director of campaigning, and chief data officer Nick Mason have stepped back from their duties.
