Craig Williams tells BBC election bet was ‘huge error of judgement’

On Wednesday, Mr Williams, exterior had posted on X concerning the allegations: “I have been contacted by a journalist about Playing Fee inquiries into certainly one of my accounts and thought it finest to be completely clear.

“I put a flutter on the overall election some weeks in the past. This has resulted in some routine inquiries and I verify I’ll absolutely cooperate with these.

“I do not need to be a distraction from the marketing campaign, I ought to have thought by the way it regarded.”

Conservative Wales Workplace minister Fay Jones confirmed the Playing Fee had “spoken to” Mr Williams and mentioned “they’re making some preliminary investigations”.

She informed BBC Wales Stay: “It isn’t nice, there isn’t any two methods about that… Let’s get the information first, earlier than we decide.”

Political opponents reacted sharply, with Welsh Labour’s Stephen Kinnock labelling the scenario “totally extraordinary”.

He added: “It is actually vital that the Playing Fee acts rapidly, they usually come again with a transparent verdict on what Mr Williams has executed.”

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster chief Liz Saville Roberts informed the programme: “It begs the questions of what Mr Williams’ judgement was in relation to placing a date on what we presume to be the overall election.”

Lib Dem deputy chief Daisy Cooper mentioned the PM ought to name a Cupboard Workplace inquiry.

“This inquiry is required to resolve who knew what when, and uncover whether or not Craig Williams knew the election date on the time the wager was positioned,” she mentioned.

A Playing Fee spokesperson mentioned it doesn’t “verify or deny whether or not any investigations are underway except or till they’re concluded, or if arrests are made or prices are introduced throughout a felony investigation”.

The spokesperson additionally mentioned that the confidential use of data in an effort to acquire an unfair benefit when betting “might represent an offence of dishonest below Part 42 of the Playing Act, which is a felony offence”.

The opposite candidates standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr are: