LONDON — Craig Williams pleaded guilty to cheating at gambling at Southwark Crown Court on October 20, 2026. He admitted to using confidential information to place bets on the date of the 2024 U.K. general election.

Prosecutor Zoe Johnson KC stated that three additional cheating charges against Williams, which he denied, would be dropped at the time of sentencing. Johnson said, "He has now accepted by his plea that he used highly sensitive and confidential information to place bets and to profit."

The charges against Williams resulted from Operation Scott, an investigation into alleged gambling by politicians and Conservative Party employees. Williams placed bets of £250, £100, and £22.50 on the general election date. One of these was a £100 bet on a July 2024 election, placed on May 19, 2024, three days before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on May 22, 2024, that the election would occur on July 4, 2024. The Gambling Commission launched an inquiry after this bet with Ladbrokes.

Williams served as parliamentary private secretary to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from October 2022 to June 2024. He was also a member of the Privy Council. In a social media video in June 2024, Williams stated, "I committed an error of judgment, not an offense, and I want to reiterate my apology directly to you." Williams has served as the Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire and previously for Cardiff North.

Williams will not be sentenced until co-defendants stand trial, with the first trial scheduled for September 6, 2027, and the second for January 3, 2028. The defendants have been granted unconditional bail.