British minister compares betting scandal to Partygate

LONDON — A senior UK minister compared the latest scandal involving Tory candidates accused of betting on the election date to Partygate, a series of pandemic-era parties that brought down former prime minister Boris Johnson.

"It looks like one rule for them and one rule for us ... That's the most potentially damaging thing," Housing Minister Michael Gove said in an interview with the Times newspaper on Saturday.

"That was damaging at the time of Partygate and is damaging here."

Johnson was forced from office in 2022 following public anger at the revelations of parties held in Downing Street when the rest of the country was under lockdown.

Now another senior Conservative Party figure has been caught up in the latest scandal.

Nick Mason, the party's chief data officer, has gone on leave following claims he placed bets on the timing of the election, the PA news agency reported on Saturday.

Mason is being investigated by betting regulators, accused of placing dozens of bets on the election date, the Times reported. He is the fourth Tory figure to be implicated in the affair.

Political bets are allowed in the United Kingdom, including on the date of elections, but using insider knowledge to do so is illegal.

Gove said those involved in the betting scandal were "sucking the oxygen out of the campaign".

"A few individuals end up creating an incredibly damaging atmosphere for the party," he said.

Agencies Via Xinhua