Tory campaign official Tony Lee looked into over alleged bet

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said it would be “deeply wrong” if anyone had used “inside information” to place bets.

"What I can't do is sort of get too much into the detail of the case while an investigation is going on,” he told the BBC.

"But I can talk about the broad principle and you're absolutely right, it's reprehensible."

The Conservative candidate in Guildford, Angela Richardson, told the BBC she was "deeply disappointed" and described the alleged bets as "incredibly disrespectful" to the prime minister and party activists.

"It would never occur to me to do that.

"I am angry... clever people sometimes do very silly things."

On Wednesday, it emerged that a police officer working as part of the prime minister’s close protection team had been arrested following an allegation of bets on the timing of the election.

The officer was initially suspended by the Metropolitan Police and then arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The individual has been bailed pending further inquiries.

The Met was contacted by the Gambling Commission last Friday. It informed the force that it was investigating alleged bets made by a police constable from the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection Command.

Labour’s campaign coordinator Pat McFadden has written to the prime minister questioning why Ms Saunders and Mr Williams are still being allowed to stand as Tory candidates, when a serving police officer has been suspended from his role following allegations they made a bet on the timing of the election.

“Surely you can understand that – yet again – this looks as though there is one rule for members of the Tory party, and another rule for everyone else, specifically on this occasion a serving police officer,” he wrote.