Alister Jack’s stumble onto centre stage in the great betting scandal is the stuff of comedy. By common consent, Mr Jack only finds himself in the spotlight because he told a BBC reporter, after the election was called, that he had made a tidy sum out of betting on it to take place in July.

Now, if one thinks that one has done something wrong and doesn’t want anyone to know about it, sharing such a jolly anecdote with a BBC reporter does not seem the most likely way to secure that outcome. When Mr Jack protests that he didn’t have a clue about when the election would be held, it is not difficult to believe him.

There is a quaint other-wordliness about it – a Cabinet Minister who doesn’t think it remotely odd, far less potentially illegal, that he should be placing bets about when his Prime Minister will call a General Election and obviously regarding himself as the last person in London expected to have inside knowledge. I’m sure he is looking forward to the Lords.

Rishi Sunak failed to put gambling controversy to bed (Image: free)

All this makes Mr Jack’s case somewhat different from the others involving Tory politicians and members of Mr Sunak’s high command though public perceptions are unlikely to differentiate. What the public see is an almost unbelievably convenient metaphor for the last 14 years – a circle of privileged people with an eye for the main chance and the lure of easy money.

The first to emerge, Craig Williams,........

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