Ladbrokes yesterday stopped taking bets on who'll be the new Archbishop of Canterbury, after 'a sudden run of bets' on one of the candidates. William Hill swiftly followed suit, reporting the same pattern.
If the betters turn out to be right, I hope that Ladbrokes insist on them turning up in person, and then passing on their details to the relevant authorities. It's pretty sad that the tenure of a new Archbishop of Canterbury might start with gambling, greedy people trying to take advantage of insider knowledge, or (if the gamblers are not insiders) individuals leaking details from what's supposed to be a confidential process.
The twittersphere consensus was that it was most likely to be someone in the loop on the Criminal Records Bureau checks, rather than Crown Nominations members. I would certainly hope so. If someone on the committee making the choice is responsible then it raises big questions about their personal judgement and character, and by extension the judgement of the committee they are part of. If it's from inside the CRB, or another government department, then I would expect resignations or sackings.
If it is CRB people, it just confirms that the system is in dire need of an overhaul, root and branch!
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps it came from the BBC, and was nothing to do with the CRB or the church. Apparently Justin Welby cancelled a planned appearance on Radio 4, scheduled for this Friday. Perhaps some people put two and two together, and made a bet.
Delete