Alister Jack denies wrongdoing after admitting to election bets

Scottish secretary Alister Jack has admitted to placing bets on the date of the general election but denied any wrongdoing.

Jack – who is not standing for re-election – said he had place three bets in total, two of which he lost but the third he won, netting him £120.

He told the BBC that bet was placed in April and therefore not covered by the Gambling Commission investigation into officials placing bets.

The Conservative Party yesterday announced it was withdrawing support from two of its candidates who were being investigated.

Craig Williams, the candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr and former aide to the prime minister, and Laura Saunders, who is standing in Bristol North West, have been dropped over the matter – though both will still appear as Tory candidates on the ballot paper as the nomination period is over.

A number of police officers in Rishi Sunak’s protection team are also alleged to have placed bets, with one being under criminal investigation having been arrested earlier this month.

Sunak announced the snap election on 22 May.

Jack previously told the BBC he had won over £2,000 by betting on when the general election would be, but later insisted that was “a joke... I was pulling your leg”.

In a statement on Tuesday, he said: “I had no knowledge of the date of the election until the day it was called.

“I placed no bets in May and am not under investigation by the Gambling Commission.”

Jack has been the Secretary of State of Scotland since 2019, brought in by Boris Johnson and retaining the role under both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

He was the MP for Dumfries and Galloway, a seat he held since 2017, though he confirmed he would not be seeking re-election over a year ago.

At that time he was nominated for a peerage in Johnson’s resignation honours list, but turned down the job as it would have triggered a byelection.

Commenting on the news he has made money through election betting, the SNP has urged Jack to “come forward” with more details.

SNP Scotland spokesperson Tommy Shepherd said: “As a senior cabinet member in the Tory government, and a well-known confidant of Sunak, Jack is obviously in the loop when it comes to Conservative party planning.

“Alister Jack has a duty to come forward with the full details of precisely what bets he placed on the election and when – the public deserve answers immediately.”

An investigation is also ongoing into Kevin Craig, who has been dropped as the Labour candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, for betting that he would lose that seat to the Conservatives.