by Mick the Ram

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that a police constable from the force’s royalty and specialist protection command was taken into custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The officer was part of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s security operation and is understood to have placed bets on the timing of the UK’s General Election, ahead of its announcement, indicating prior knowledge.

The Gambling Commission tipped off the Met that it was probing the betting activity of the individual, which led to the arrest.

The person involved has been bailed pending further enquiries and has been removed from “operational duties”.

This follows news only last week that Conservative candidate Craig Williams, who was a parliamentary aide to Mr Sunak, was forced to apologise over what he called a “huge error of judgement“ amid allegations that he placed a £100 bet on a July election.

This was three days before the PM informed the nation that he was calling it for 4 July, even though it was widely believed he would be waiting until the autumn.

Several bets believed to have been placed

The officer in question is part of the team which also provides personal close protection to ministerial VIP’s and members of the Royal Family. It is believed that the officer placed several bets, with at least one of them being a three-figure sum.

Parallel investigations

Scotland Yard referred the matter to detectives in its Directorate of Professional Standards, who opened an investigation. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have said that after receiving a mandatory referral from the Metropolitan Police Service, it will make a decision on its level of involvement  in due course.

A spokesperson said: “The Gambling Commission continues to lead the investigation into the alleged betting offences, and our investigation is running in parallel to that.”

Gambling Commission heavily involved

A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission has just said: “We regulate gambling in the interests of consumers and the wider public.”

Continuing they said: “Currently the commission is investigating the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election and this is an ongoing investigation, with no further details at this time.”

PPS holds back on possible insider information acknowledgment

Mr Williams, who was the PM’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS), made his wager at a local Ladbrokes bookmakers in his Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr constituency. A PPS is a backbench MP who acts as the prime minister’s “eyes and ears” in the House of Commons.

He has said that he will cooperate with any inquiries being made, but has so far flatly refused to confirm whether he had any inside information when he placed the bet.

However, with the wager being made just 3 days prior to its big reveal and with well-informed commentators and political experts seemingly having no knowledge of its likelihood, it does look extremely suspicious.

When Mr Williams made his apology he also said: “I don’t want it to be a distraction from the campaign. I should have thought through how it looks.”