Former Welsh MP accused of gambling on general election appears in court
Former Welsh MP accused of gambling on general election appears in court
Craig Williams appeared in court alongside 14 others with links to the Tory party who have been charged with similar offences
Former Conservative MP Craig Williams arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court, London
(Image: PA )
A former Welsh MP has appeared in court accused of cheating by gambling on the date of the 2024 general election.
Craig Williams, 39, who served as the Tory MP for Montgomeryshire and Cardiff North, has been charged with cheating at gambling and three counts of enabling or assisting others to cheat.
Williams, of Llanfair Caereinion, Welshpool, served as parliamentary private secretary to Rishi Sunak during his time as Prime Minister.
Former Tory member of Senedd Russell George, 50, and Thomas James, 38, the suspended director of the Welsh Conservatives, also appeared and both indicated not guilty pleas
Both men are among 15 people linked to the Conservative Party alleged to have made bets on the date Mr Sunak would call a general election. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
At Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday Williams appeared wearing a smart black suit and grey tie alongside 14 others charged with similar offences.
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Craig Williams outside court
(Image: PA )
The charges came after Operation Scott was launched to investigate alleged gambling by politicians and employees of the Conservative Party in the lead-up to the 2024 general election.
Mr Sunak, who has provided a witness statement in this case, had noted that elections would take place in the second half of the year but had not given a date.
Prosecuting on behalf of the Gambling Commission Sam Stein KC said: "Operation Scott was an investigation launched by the Gambling Commission into politicians and employees of the Conservative Party, and a former police officer ... who had placed bets on the date of the 2024 general election with the benefit of confidential or insider information as to when that date might be.
"The prosecution says that placing bets with inside information is a criminal offence, namely cheating."
Williams was first the MP for Cardiff North between 2015 and 2017 before he lost his seat to Labour MP Anna McMorrin.
He represented Montgomeryshire for the Conservative party between 2019 and 2024. During that time he was one of the most trusted advisers of Mr Sunak.
He stood as the candidate for the candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr in the 2024 election but was dropped by his party once allegations came to light and lost, coming third.
Before the July 4 election was called planning took place at Downing Street and Conservative Campaign Headquarters, the court heard.
Russell George (left) with Craig Williams
The 15 defendants are alleged to have placed bets based on confidential information gained from those rooms, or enabling others to place bets by passing that information on.
If convicted they could face up to two years in prison for these offences. Twelve of the defendants indicated not guilty pleas.
On Friday, Simon Chatfield, 51, from Farnham, Surrey; Russell George, 50; Amy Hind, 34, of Loughton, Essex; Anthony Hind, 36, of Loughton, Essex; Thomas James, 38; Charlotte Lang, 36; Anthony Lee, 47; Laura Saunders, 37; Iain Makepeace, 47, from Newcastle Upon Tyne; Nick Mason, 51; Paul Place, 53, from Hammersmith, west London; and James Ward, 40, of Leeds, all indicated they would deny the charges.
Former MP Williams along with Jacob Willmer, 39, from Richmond, West London, and former police officer Jeremy Hunt, 55, of Horne in Surrey, gave no indication of plea.
The 15 defendants will appear at Southwark Crown Court on July 11.
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