A protection officer for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been arrested on suspicion of betting on the timing of the British general election, which was recently held months earlier than expected, police said on Wednesday.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that the officer had been relieved of his duties and was arrested on Monday “on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.” The department also said the unnamed officer had been released on bail “pending further inquiries.”
News of the arrest comes a week after Conservative MP Craig Williams, Sunak’s parliamentary assistant, was arrested for Election Time Before the July 4 date was officially announced.
“I’ve been looking forward to the election for a few weeks now,” said Mr. Williams, who will seek re-election in the July 4 election. Wrote on social mediaHe noted that the Gambling Commission, which regulates the UK gambling industry, was conducting investigations. “I can confirm that I will cooperate fully with those investigations,” he said.
“I didn’t want it to distract from my campaign,” he added. “I should have thought carefully about what that would look like.”
Under UK electoral rules, Sunak has the power to decide the date of the general election, but must choose a date before the end of January next year. The prime minister has repeatedly said he expects the election to be held in the second half of this year.
Most political analysts said they believed Sunak would wait until the autumn to face voters to give the economy more time to recover and give him time to try to start implementing his flagship immigration policy of letting some asylum seekers One-way flights to Rwanda.
Sunak chose to announce his resignation on July 4, surprising most observers.
In a statement about the latest case, the Metropolitan Police said it had been contacted by the Gambling Commission on Friday claiming a bet had been placed by an officer from the Crown and Specialist Protection Command.
Members of the command, which is part of the Metropolitan Police, usually work closely with the prime minister and the royal family and must be cautious.
The Metropolitan Police said it had referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which oversees the complaints system in England and Wales and investigates the most serious matters relating to police conduct.
