A number of senior Tories have claimed they cannot comment on the election betting scandal, after being instructed not to discuss the case by the Gambling Commission.
At least four Conservative officials or candidates are being investigated over claims they used insider knowledge to place bets on the timing of the general election before it was announced.
The Conservative Party has said it is “not permitted to discuss any matters related” to the Gambling Commission investigation.
Meanwhile, despite pressure from his own ranks, Rishi Sunak has refused to suspend suspects from the party, with Tory HQ reportedly fearing it could leave them open to legal action.
But what are the rules around discussing such an investigation, and do they really stop Tory ministers discussing it in public?
Does Gambling Commission have the power to stop the case being discussed?
Several senior Tory officials have claimed that the Gambling Commission instructed them not to talk about its ongoing investigation.
Home secretary James Cleverly told LBC on Sunday: “We as a party have been given clear instructions by the Gambling Commission that we should not discuss this.
“They’ve instructed us that we should not be discussing it, so I am going to abide by the Gambling Commissions’ instructions.”
Mr Sunak also said he could not answer questions about the ongoing investigations “to protect the integrity of them”.
However, legal experts have cast doubt over whether the Gambling Commission has the power to stop the case being discussed.
Elizabeth McGlone, partner at legal firm Didlaw, said: “I am not convinced there is any way for the commission to bind someone to confidentiality but it makes sense for the request to have been made.
“The Gambling Commission may want to maintain confidentiality in the investigation so as to not prejudice it and ensure it undertakes the investigation as fairly as possible.”
The Contempt of Court Act 1981 limits what can be said about active legal proceedings, where someone has been arrested or charged with an offence and their case is yet to go through the courts.
One of Mr Sunak’s police protection officers has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with the investigation. However, no Tory officials or candidates have been arrested in connection with any offences.
Media law consultant Charlie Moloney said there could be a risk that other cases could have an impact on the investigation regarding the officer – but that does not represent a blanket ban on commenting on them in public.
He told i: “The investigation into the police officer who has been arrested may be linked to the one into the candidates in ways we do not yet fully appreciate.
“But, that does not mean that all speech or commentary about a criminal investigation is prohibited.”
John Adenitire, senior lecturer of law at Queen Mary University of London, told i that the Gambling Commission “can of course ask anyone not to speak about ongoing investigations,” but that does not imply that it has “the legal powers to compel them not to speak.
“I have not seen anywhere that it has legal powers to compel them not to speak.”
Does Gambling Commission inquiry stop the Tories suspending candidates?
According to Mr Adenitire, the commission’s investigation and the Conservative Party’s procedures around the suspension of members are “theoretically independent of each other”.
He said: “My view is that the Conservative HQ can decide, following its own procedures, to suspend the candidates for bringing the party into disrepute.
“So theoretically the Conservative HQ can lawfully suspend the candidates even if the commission decides against prosecution.”
Colin Talbot, emeritus professor of government at the University of Manchester, said that the Conservative Party can decide at its own discretion whether to suspend members it is investigating.
He told i: “The issue with the rules is that there is no automaticity built into them. Rather, the party needs to consider the circumstances and how serious the breach is.
“In this case it’s a pretty serious breach, but I think it’s obviously going to be extremely embarrassing for the Conservative Party to suspend them.
“They just flunked it and decided not to suspend them.”
Could Tory party face legal action for suspending candidates?
i understands that Mr Sunak is resisting pressure from within his party to suspend those being investigated because he believes that they are innocent until proven guilty.
He is also taking into account Conservative HQ fears that suspending them may leave the party open to legal action if they are later cleared.
According to employment lawyer Philip Landau, candidates and officials would only be able to take legal action against Conservative HQ if “there were no reasonable grounds at all for the suspension.”
He said: “A claim would only be likely if there were no reasonable grounds at all for the suspension, and that the decision to suspend breached the trust and confidence between the parties.”
Mr Adenitire told i that, while the candidates can take legal action against Tory HQ, there is no guarantee that such action would succeed.
He said: “Importantly, the candidates can take legal action against Conservative HQ if they are suspended, especially if the procedures are not fully followed.
“However, whether such action will be successful is speculative at this moment.”
Election 2024
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