Tony Blair spin chief suffers huge loss in son's collapsed betting syndicate

Posted: January 2, 2025, 01:33 pm.

Last updated: January 2, 2025, 01:33 PM.

Alistair Campbell, previously a powerful figure in British politics, invested £300,000 (US$370,000) in his son's ill-fated football-betting syndicate before its collapse, The Daily Mail Report.

Campbell, 67, is one of more than 50 investors who collectively invested at least £5 million (US$6.1 million) in the venture, which was run by 37-year-old Rory Campbell.

Rory Campbell had previously assured that there were “no holes” in the fund and that they could expect to receive their funding “in full” by the end of July, a source said. In mid-July, Campbell revised that figure to a return “in the area of ​​50%-65%,” according to the source.

'Low risk' claim

An investor said The Mail Campbell described the betting scheme as “massively low risk”, adding that he had placed a significant portion of his net worth in the fund.

“Rory told us that he could not lose more than 5% of his total betting funds to a bookmaker at any one time and his job was to manage that risk,” the investor reported. The Mail.

Then suddenly all the money disappeared,” he added. “They have provided no evidence of where it went, and we want a proper explanation of where all the millions of pounds went.”

Investors are currently negotiating a settlement with the Campbell family and believe they will be lucky to get 15% of their losses back. The Mail.

Some have compiled a dossier of evidence, including contracts, bank statements, spreadsheets and communications with Campbell, which they plan to take to the police.

'Trust broken'

A spokesperson for the Campbell camp said The Mail Its reporter was cited as having given “an incomplete and, in many ways, inaccurate description of the extremely complex issues which are currently the subject of confidential talks aimed at finding a solution between the various parties.”

This is a matter of concern and we are very disappointed to hear from you that this trust has been broken,” the spokesperson added. “Given the confidential nature of the discussions, we are not at liberty to comment any further at this stage.”

Alastair Campbell was the Blair administration's Director of Communications from 1997 to 2003. As Blair's speechwriter and chief strategist, he was sometimes called “the de facto Deputy Prime Minister”.