Former Sunak Aide and Ex-Tory Staffer Plead Guilty to Election Betting Offences

Craig Williams, a former senior aide to Rishi Sunak, and Amy Hind have admitted to cheating offences related to betting on the date of the 2024 UK General Election. The pair pleaded guilty on Monday, 29 June 2026, to charges under section 42(1)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005. The case centres on the use of confidential information to gain an unfair advantage in betting markets before the election date was made public.

Access to Privileged Information

Mr Williams held several positions of trust prior to the election. He served as the Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire from December 2019 until May 2024 and was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then-Prime Minister in October 2022. In November 2023, he was also sworn in as a member of the King's Privy Council. It was established that Mr Williams had access to privileged information by attending meetings with the Prime Minister and other senior figures at Conservative Central Headquarters where the timing of the general election was discussed.

Amy Hind, who currently works as a Business Support Manager for the NHS, also used inside knowledge to place wagers. Ms Hind had previously been employed by the Conservative Party in a number of roles. The court heard that she placed bets on the election timing after confidential information about when the poll would be called was passed to her.

Sentencing and Wider Investigation

The 2024 General Election was officially called by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 22 May 2024, with the public informed that polling day would be on 4 July 2024. Both Mr Williams and Ms Hind placed their bets before this official announcement. Ms Hind is scheduled for sentencing at Southwark Crown Court on 23 October. A date for Mr Williams's sentencing has not yet been set and will be confirmed later.

The guilty pleas from Williams and Hind represent a significant development in a wider investigation into betting on the election date. The trials for 12 other defendants connected to the case are scheduled to proceed in two tranches, with dates set for September 2027 and January 2028.