Philip Barden, a partner at law firm Devonshires who represents Mr Craig, said there was nothing to prevent politicians placing bets on general election outcomes.

“The legal obligation is that a bet is not placed with inside information,” he said.

Mr Barden added that his client had “no inside information” and “no way of knowing who would win the election”.

“If anyone had looked at Mr Craig’s confidential gambling records, they would have seen frequent bets being placed on all sorts of outcomes and events,” he said.

“It should have been clear to all involved that he was just someone who liked a bet, just like millions of other people in the UK.”

Mr Craig’s Gambling on Elections Bill, which has been presented to Sir Keir Starmer, would prohibit bets being placed on the outcome or date of elections by political candidates and staff.

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.