Former MP faces two year wait for gambling trial

Former Montgomeryshire MP, Craig Williams, will have to wait for two years before going on trial for being accused of cheating at gambling.

The London Evening Standard is reporting that the former Conservative MP will not stand trial until 2028 over the allegations that surrounded the 2024 General Eelection.

Mr Williams, 40, who was also Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s parliamentary private secretary in the last government, is accused alongside top Tory officials of cheating at gambling in May 2024, just before his boss called the election.

The MP, who went on to lose his seat, is also accused of feeding confidential information about election planning to three others so that they could cheat on bets, including current Montgomeryshire Member of the Senedd, Russell George.

Mr George, 51, was suspended by the party and is currently representing the constituency without being attached a political party. He has already announced he won’t run at next year’s Welsh elections.

At Southwark Crown Court yesterday (Friday), Mr Williams and his 14 co-defendants were told they will be divided into two trials, to take place in September 2027 and January 2028. Williams is set to be in the second trial. 

The charges revolve around Mr Sunak’s decision to call a General Election on May 22 last year, setting the voting date for July 4. It was a move that surprised many commentators who had thought the Tories would wait until late autumn or winter to go to the polls.

The 15 defendants – including a Metropolitan Police officer – were charged with criminal offences after a Gambling Commission investigation.

At an earlier court hearing, Mr Williams gave no indication of his pleas to the charges, while Mr George has indicated that he intends to plead not guilty.