
Ex-MP Craig Williams in crown court over gambling charges
The ex-MP and senior adviser to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who lost the backing of the Conservative Party amid the emergence of the allegations, was defeated in the 2024 General Election.
At Westminster Magistrates Court last month, Williams, of Llanfair Caereinion, appeared wearing a smart black suit and grey tie alongside 14 others charged with similar offences.
Pictures from the Press Association this morning showed him arriving at Southwark Crown Court in London dressed in similar attire.
Others included Montgomeryshire MS Russell George, 50, and Thomas James, 38, the suspended director of the Welsh Conservatives, both of whom indicated not guilty pleas.
Williams did not enter a plea at the magistrates court hearing.
Williams was first the MP for Cardiff North between 2015 and 2017 before he lost his seat to Labour MP Anna McMorrin.
He was then elected as the MP for Montgomeryshire at the 2019 general election which he lost to Labour's Steve Witherden in July last year.
If convicted the 15 defendants could face up to two years in prison for these offences.
Twelve of the defendants indicated not guilty pleas.
On June 13 the following defendants all indicated they would deny the charges.
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,
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.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Sky News
39 minutes ago
- Sky News
Kemi Badenoch says she no longer identifies as Nigerian
Kemi Badenoch has said she does not see herself as Nigerian and no longer has a passport for the country she grew up in. The leader of the Conservative Party was born in the London suburb of Wimbledon but was raised in Lagos, Nigeria. When Nigeria's economy collapsed in the 1990s, Ms Badenoch, then aged 16, moved back to the UK to live with a family friend and continue her education. Speaking to former MP and television presenter Gyles Brandreth on the Rosebud podcast, Ms Badenoch said as most of her life has been in the UK, she "does not identify" as Nigerian. "I'm Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents... but by identity I'm not really," the North West Essex MP said. "I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s." Ms Badenoch added that her home is now where her family is, which includes her extended political family. On Nigeria, she said: "I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I'm very interested in what happens there." "But home is where my now family is, and my now family is my children, it's my husband and my brother and his children, in-laws. The Conservative Party is very much part of my family - my extended family, I call it," she added. Ms Badenoch said on her return to Nigeria after her father, Femi, who was a GP with his own clinic, died, she faced a "big fandango" to get a visa. She also said her early experiences in Nigeria shaped her political outlook, including why she doesn't like socialism. "I remember never quite feeling that I belonged there," she added. Last year, Nigerian vice president Kashim Shettima accused Ms Badenoch of disparaging the country, adding that she has "every right to remove the Kemi from her name". The criticism came after Ms Badenoch spoke about her life and childhood in Nigeria during the Tory leadership race. A spokesperson for Ms Badenoch responded to Mr Shettima at the time, saying the Conservative leader was "not the PR for Nigeria".


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Kemi Badenoch says she no longer feels Nigerian and has given up passport for the country where she was brought up before coming to Britain aged 16
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer feels Nigerian and has given up her passport for the country. Although she was born in Wimbledon, Mrs Badenoch spent most of her childhood in Nigeria before returning to south London at the age of 16, after the country's economy collapsed in the 1990s, to continue her education. She explained that she didn't 'identify' with the country, as she spent most of her life in the UK. And when it came to her passport, she no longer had it up to date. 'I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s,' she told the Rosebud podcast. She revealed that she had to get a visa when her father died, describing the process as a 'big fandango.' She said: 'I'm Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents… but by identity, I'm not really. 'I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I'm very interested in what happens there.' 'But home is where my now family is, and my now family is my children, it's my husband and my brother and his children, in-laws.' She also made it clear that she felt the Conservative Party was part of her 'extended family'. The North West Essex MP said her early experiences in Nigeria influenced her political views, particularly 'why I don't like socialism.' 'I remember never quite feeling that I belonged there,' she added. The Tory leader shared that the reason she returned to the UK as a teenager was because her parents thought she would have 'no future' in Nigeria. And she said she has not experienced racial prejudice in Britain 'in any meaningful form', she said. 'I knew I was going to a place where I would look different to everybody, and I didn't think that that was odd,' she said. 'What I found actually quite interesting was that people didn't treat me differently, and it's why I'm so quick to defend the UK whenever there are accusations of racism.' Asked if she was made conscious of her 'blackness' after coming to Britain, she said: 'Never. And I think that this is one of the things that probably made me an outlier. She continued: 'I had a couple of instances at school which now I look back and I think "Well, that might have been prejudice" but even then, when I talk about the soft bigotry of lower expectations, teachers saying "You don't need to go to all these fancy universities, just to this poly or this former poly". 'Some of it was just coming from what they thought was a good place, they thought they were being helpful or they were well-meaning. 'I don't think they were trying to disadvantage me. So I didn't feel that way.' But Mrs Badenoch, who moved permanently to the UK when she was 16 in 1996 because of economic turmoil in Nigeria, warned that things could get worse. The mother-of-three said it would be a 'dereliction of duty' to leave a worse world to her children. She added: 'I have mixed-race children. Making sure we keep a socially cohesive society, one where the colour of your skin doesn't matter any more than the colour of your eyes or your hair, is quite important. I think we've done such a brilliant job in the UK, and that's in danger of turning because of people on both extremes.


The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
'Nicola Sturgeon most feared figure in UK politics'
However, she criticised the former SNP's leader's handling of the party, saying that the structure of the SNP had "never grown or adapted" under Ms Sturgeon's watch. Her comments come as the former SNP MP and ex-Westminster deputy leader for the party, Ms Black, recently revealed to The Herald she had left the SNP because she was unhappy with the direction it had taken. READ MORE: Mhairi Black: 'I thought politics would be about team work' Mhairi Black leaves SNP after disagreeing with party direction Asked by the paper how Ms Sturgeon's legacy would be judged, Ms Black said: 'Undoubtedly no one can take away that she reached levels of influence and popularity and fear that I don't think anyone else has in recent memory … I can't think of anybody who has had that kind of impact, certainly on UK politics.' She recalled the atmosphere in Westminster during Ms Sturgeon's visits: 'They were terrified of her, absolutely terrified. When she was in the building it spread like wildfire. You could see they're actually quite shaken at the very fact that she's here in person.' Ms Black praised Ms Sturgeon as a skilled political operator. She said: 'I've always said I think she is possibly the best politician I can think of UK-wide as to competency and being able to answer a question. I've never seen her shaken. She was always unflappable and I know from experience how difficult that is to do. So, as a politician I thought she was s**t hot.' The former MP, who stood down at the last general election, was more critical of Ms Sturgeon's record as party leader — especially on internal reform. 'As the leader of a political party, I thought she could have done so much better,' Ms Black said. 'The same is true of Alex Salmond when he was in charge and even John Swinney now. "The actual structure of the party has never grown or adapted to that influx of membership, which I think has actually played a role in why a lot of folk have turned away from the party. It's because the structure just wasn't there to give people the kind of membership they were craving.' Last week, Ms Black said there had been "too many times" where she did not agree with decisions and strategies made by her former party, adding: "There are better organisations that I could be giving a membership to than this one." The former MP said her party's "capitulation" on LGBT rights and trans rights in particular was one of the main reasons which motivated her to leave the party. Ms Black was first elected to Westminster in 2015 aged 20, ousting Labour's Douglas Alexander as MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South. She later served as Deputy Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons from 2022 to 2024 and she stood down ahead of the general election last year, citing safety concerns, social media abuse and unsociable hours. Outside of her party, Ms Black criticised UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for 'believing in nothing'. She said: 'The guy believes in nothing. I've no doubt that he goes home and convinces himself that he's a very practical, reasonable set of hands who is guiding us through a very turbulent time. I just think it's rubbish." The former [[SNP]] member described Reform leader Nigel Farage as "poisonous" and the UK's version of Donald Trump. Ms Black said: 'He's the British Trump. Poisonous. I have absolutely nothing nice to say about him. How far have we fallen as a society when all it takes is a millionaire in a cravat holding a pint and suddenly we're like, 'Oh, yes, you must have my interests at heart?'' Read the full interview with Mhairi Black in The Herald Magazine.