保守党竞选首席及其妻子对选举日期下注认罪

英国赌博委员会宣布，2026年9月10日，保守党2024年大选期间的竞选主任安东尼·李及其妻子劳拉·李在使用机密信息对选举时间进行下注后，对《2005年赌博法》下的作弊罪行认罪。

In an enforcement update published the same day, the Commission said Anthony Lee pleaded guilty to two offences of cheating, contrary to section 42(1)(a) and section 42(1)(b) of the Gambling Act 2005. Laura Lee, formerly Laura Saunders, pleaded guilty to one offence of cheating under section 42(1)(a). Cheating under section 42 of the Act is a criminal offence.

Then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the 2024年7月4日 general election date to the public on 2024年5月22日. There was significant planning for a July 4 election in advance of the announcement, taking place at 10 Downing Street and among staff at Conservative Campaign Headquarters, according to the Commission.

A number of gambling operators ran special markets on when the general election would be held in the period before the date was made public, the Commission said. “This was not a market to be abused by those with inside information as to when the election would be held,” the regulator said.

Senior Roles at Campaign Headquarters

Anthony Lee was the Conservative Party’s Director of Campaigning. The Commission said that senior position made him party to highly sensitive discussions about the timing of the general election, held at Conservative Campaign Headquarters and involving senior party staff. According to the regulator, he did not keep that information confidential: he used it to place bets and shared it with his wife.

Laura Lee was Head of International for the Conservative Party and stood as the party’s candidate for Bristol North-West at the 2024 general election. The Commission said she placed bets on the election with the benefit of confidential information passed to her by her husband about when the election would be called.

Earlier Guilty Pleas

Craig Williams and Amy Hind pleaded guilty to cheating offences under section 42(1)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005 on 2026年6月29日. The Commission said both defendants placed bets themselves, using confidential and sensitive information about the date of the 2024 general election in order to profit.

威廉姆斯于2022年10月成为苏纳克的议会私人秘书，并于2023年11月宣誓加入国王枢密院。他自2019年12月至2024年5月议会解散期间，担任威尔士蒙哥马利郡选区的议员。委员会称，他的特权职位让他能够参加与首相及保守党中央总部高级工作人员的会议，会议期间讨论了选举日期，而他试图利用该信息牟利而非保密。

欣德曾在 NHS 担任业务支持经理，之前也在保守党担任过多个职务。委员会称，她利用传递给她的关于选举何时召开的机密信息，对2024年大选进行下注。

调查与指控

委员会于2024年6月启动调查，重点关注涉嫌利用机密信息，尤其是对拟定选举日期的提前了解，以在投注市场获取不正当优势的个人。监管机构于2025年4月14日 对15人提出《2005年赌博法》下的指控 与选举时间下注有关

被指控者包括委员会列为47岁的布里斯托尔人安东尼·李，以及37岁的布里斯托尔人劳拉·Saunders（即劳拉·李），以及威廉姆斯和欣德。15人原定于2025年6月13日在威斯敏斯特治安法庭出庭。

根据《赌博法》第27条和第28条，委员会有权调查罪行并在适当情况下提起刑事起诉。监管机构表示，此案由其主导，且与之前已停止的独立大都会警察调查无关。

安东尼·李、劳拉·李和欣德将于2026年10月23日在南华克皇家法院接受判刑。威廉姆斯的判刑时间另行安排。委员会称，其余10名被告的审判将分别在2027年9月和2028年1月进行。