Former Tory campaign chief Anthony Lee handed suspended sentence over election-date bets

The Conservatives’ former director of campaigning has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting cheating at gambling on the date of the 2024 general election.

Anthony Lee was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday to 10 months and two weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, after admitting two cheating-at-gambling offences. His wife Laura Lee, a parliamentary candidate at the time, received four months and two weeks, suspended for a year, after admitting one charge. Amy Hind, a former Tory party employee, was sentenced to six months, suspended for a year, after previously pleading guilty.

The court heard Lee used “inside information” from a private Downing Street meeting called by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak on 10 March 2024 and passed it to his wife so they could profit. Prosecutor Zoe Johnson KC said he had “abused” the information that 4 July was the working election date.

The Lees placed more than £2,000 of bets between 10 March and 21 May 2024 and stood to win more than £23,000 had the cheating gone unnoticed. Judge Tony Baumgartner said their conduct “risked undermining” public confidence in the Conservative Party “as an institution”, trust in the democratic process and the integrity of the gambling system.

They were among several people charged with betting offences by the Gambling Commission, with further trials due next year and in 2028. Former Conservative MP Craig Williams, who was Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide at the time, pleaded guilty in June and will be sentenced later.