05 April 2024 , 15:10
1150
0
Scotland Yard is looking into reports of a Parliamentary 'honeytrap' scam after a Tory MP said he was "manipulated" into sharing colleagues' phone numbers.
Several Labour and Tory MPs, Parliamentary staff and journalists received flirtatious messages from a mysterious number, and two unnamed politicians are understood to have sent X-rated pictures. William Wragg admitted he was "scared" when a stranger he met on dating app Grindr demanded phone numbers of MPs, Westminster staff and journalists, and reluctantly handed some over.
The identity of the individual isn't known, sparking fears that MPs could have been targeted by foreign spies. The Met said it was liaising with Leicestershire Police, which was already investigating an allegation that MP had been targeted last month.
Senior Tories said Mr Wragg, who is already set to quit Parliament at the next election, remains a Conservative MP. Jeremy Hunt appeared to offer his support by branding Mr Wragg's apology "courageous and fulsome".
MPs who think they have been targeted were urged to contact the police. Mr Hunt said: "The events of the last few days have been a great cause for concern. The MP involved has given a courageous and fulsome apology.
Man arrested for murder after woman found dead on New Year's Eve
"But the lesson here for all MPs is that they need to be very careful about cybersecurity, and indeed it is the lesson for members of the public as well, because this is something that we are all having to face in our daily lives."
Scotland Yard confirmed it was in contact with Leicestershire Police and Parliamentary Security "following reporting of unsolicited messages to members of Parliament". Leicestershire Police is investigating a report of malicious communications after several unsolicited messages were sent to an MP in the county.
The messages were reported to officers on March 19. Andrew Bridgen, independent MP for North West Leicestershire - who wasn't the victim - said: "I am baffled by anyone who thinks that it is a good idea to send pictures of your genitalia to people you barely know."
On Wednesday Politico reported that six men, including MPs, staff and a journalist, had been contacted by people identifying themselves as "Charlie" or "Abi". They claimed to have previously spoken to their victim, before becoming flirtatious and sending explicit images.
Mr Wragg told The Times he had passed on some numbers after being pressured by the scammer. He said he was sorry for his "weakness", stating: "They had compromising things on me. They wouldn't leave me alone. They would ask for people.
"I gave them some numbers, not all of them. I told him to stop. He's manipulated me and now I've hurt other people." He said he had been chatting to a man on gay dating app Grindr. They exchanged pictures and agreed to meet, but never did so, he said.
The MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester said the man started asking for numbers. A WhatsApp number he had for the scammer no longer works, he said.
Treasury minister Gareth Davies said of Mr Wragg: "He is continuing as a Conservative MP and it's right that there's an investigation into what happened. He's rightly apologised, and, as I say, that's a matter for Will Wragg and the party generally."
He urged anyone who believes they were targeted to contact police, describing the case as "extremely troubling". Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said she believes it could be the work of foreign spies. And Tory MP Bob Seely said it was “crude enough to be the Russians”.