Ex-Tory campaign chief sentenced over bets on election date

A former Conservative Party campaign chief has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting using confidential information linked to a private Downing Street meeting to place bets on the date of the 2024 general election.

Anthony Lee, 49, the Tories' former director of campaigning, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to two charges of cheating at gambling.

His wife, Laura Saunders, 38, a former Conservative parliamentary candidate, and Amy Hind, 36, also admitted offences and received suspended sentences, The Telegraph reports.

Prosecutors said the trio used inside information about plans for a July 4 general election to place a series of bets worth thousands of pounds before the date was publicly announced.

The court heard that then-prime minister Rishi Sunak held a private meeting in Downing Street on March 10, 2024, with a small group of people to discuss possible election dates.

Although neither Lee nor Saunders attended the meeting, prosecutor Zoe Johnson KC said the “overwhelming inference” was that Lee was receiving confidential information as the discussions took place and acting on it.

She told the court that Lee later passed the information to Saunders and that the pair stood to win more than £23,000 had the scheme not been uncovered.

“Together, they were using it to make a profit for themselves,” she said.

Lee placed or attempted to place 71 bets between March and May 2024, while Saunders placed eight and attempted a ninth. Almost all of the wagers backed a July election date, the court heard.

Sentencing the defendants, Judge Tony Baumgartner said their actions had “risked undermining” public confidence in the Conservative Party.

The court was told that determining the date of a general election is a significant political advantage enjoyed by an incumbent prime minister.

Johnson said Lee's role had been to help the party make the most of that legitimate advantage, but that he instead “abused the information in order to make personal profit”.

She added that the scandal had caused wider harm at a time when public confidence in politicians was already low.

Lee was sentenced to 10 months and two weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and pay more than £6,600 in compensation.

Saunders received a four-month-and-two-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, alongside 40 hours of unpaid work and a compensation order of £4,265.

Amy Hind, the wife of former Conservative deputy digital director Anthony Hind, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid work.

The court heard Hind placed or attempted to place seven bets worth more than £2,300 and stood to make more than £26,000.

All three defendants are now subject to a 12-month prohibition preventing them from accessing or using online gambling websites and apps.

Craig Williams, the former Tory MP for Montgomeryshire and Cardiff North, has also admitted cheating at gambling but will be sentenced at a later date after other defendants have stood trial.