Sunak is facing calls for an investigation into election date betting in Britain

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday faced calls to launch an investigation after a member of his security service was arrested for allegedly betting on the timing of the general election.

London’s Metropolitan Police said it had been told by the Gambling Commission that a close protection officer was being investigated over the alleged betting.

The regulator had already been investigating claims that Conservative Party candidate Craig Williams, who served as Sunak’s ministerial assistant, had placed a bet on when the election would take place.

A second candidate from Sunak’s party, Laura Saunders, is now also under investigation for an alleged bet on the date of the election, the BBC reported on Wednesday evening.

Saunders is married to Tory campaign director Tony Lee. He “took a leave of absence from CCHQ (Conservative Campaign Headquarters) yesterday (Wednesday), the party said.

CCHQ previously confirmed it had been contacted by the Gambling Commission about “a small number of individuals”, without commenting further.

Minister Michael Gove told reporters en route that the fact that Saunders was facing an investigation “doesn’t look great”.

He said he could not comment on the specific allegations, but previously said the “broad principle” of using inside information to place bets was “reprehensible”.

Labor leader Keir Starmer, tipped to succeed Sunak in Downing Street, called on the Prime Minister to withdraw his support for those believed to be involved.

Sunak announced that a general election would be held on July 4, surprising his own party as he still had six months to vote.

The Tories are expected to be ousted from office after 14 years in power, with the main opposition Labor party consistently leading by around 20 points according to polls.

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