Two MPs say they were targeted in parliamentary sexting scam as police launch probe
ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton and Westminster Producer Maya Bowles spoke to a former Tory MP contacted as part of the scandal.
Police are investigating reports of a parliamentary honeytrap sexting scam after a Tory MP claimed he was blackmailed into sharing MPs' phone numbers for fear of explicit images of him being leaked.
William Wragg, MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester, said on Thursday he was “manipulated” into giving the personal details of colleagues to a man he met on gay dating app, Grindr, after he'd sent intimate pictures of himself.
Earlier this week, Politico reported that a number of sitting and former MPs had been contacted by an unknown number detailing prior meetings with politicians in efforts to acquire personal or sensitive information.
At least 12 men in Westminster are believed to have been contacted by this individual. Some messages have been exclusively shared with ITV News.
Scotland Yard has confirmed it is in contact with Leicestershire Police and Parliamentary Security “following reporting of unsolicited messages to members of Parliament”, amid concerns other MPs and their staff could be victims of blackmail.
“We will assess any reports made to us accordingly,” the Met Police added.
Earlier this week it was revealed that a number of politicians had been contacted by a person who would allege that they had previously met.
Politico reported that these political figures had received the unsolicited messages from two numbers calling themselves “Abi” or “Charlie”.
The messages would include details of the MP’s career and campaigns they had worked on.
ITV News has seen some of the messages sent to two men working in Westminster from a person calling themselves "Charlie"'.
The first man was contacted in December. The message reads: "Long time no speak! How're you? Hope you get a break over Christmas x".
After no reply, another message was sent a few weeks later, saying: "Shame you're so busy... we used to have our fun ;)".
The second man is a former Conservative MP and was contacted by the same phone number. He has shared the messages exclusively with ITV News.
He received a message saying: "How're you doing?"
"Want to see something that might brighten your evening?" he was asked, before being sent an encrypted photo which ITV News has not seen, and the former MP says he has not viewed.
"Or not," read the last message, which was sent just over three weeks ago on March 14.
A number of MPs have called the revelations "concerning" and "serious" - but the chancellor appeared to throw his support behind Mr Wragg and accepted his "courageous" apology.
Mr Wragg told The Times he gave out the details because he was "scared" the person had compromising information on him.
“They had compromising things on me. They wouldn’t leave me alone. They would ask for people," Mr Wragg said.
“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.
“I got chatting to a guy on an app and we exchanged pictures. We were meant to meet up for drinks, but then didn’t.
“Then he started asking for numbers of people. I was worried because he had stuff on me. He gave me a WhatsApp number, which doesn’t work now.
“I’ve hurt people by being weak. I was scared. I’m mortified. I’m so sorry that my weakness has caused other people hurt.”
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On Friday night, ITV News spoke to a Scottish Labour official who last received a message from 'Charlie' one week ago, and says he had a phone call with the same number during last year's Labour party conference.
He described 'Charlie' as speaking with a "metropolitan accent".
"He sounded quite young, probably late 20s or early 30s. Very calm. Didn’t really give any information about themselves or as little as they could get away with," said the Labour official
"He claimed to have been working or been to Uni in Scotland before moving south again to work in public affairs."
The Labour official said 'Charlie' had asked for information on Labour activists during the call.
A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said the force is investigating a report of malicious communications after a number of unsolicited messages were sent to a Leicestershire MP last month.
“They were reported to police on Tuesday March 19. Inquiries are currently ongoing,” the force said.
Conservative MP for Bosworth, Dr Luke Evans has said he was the MP targeted in the scam and was the MP that first alerted police and Commons authorities.
In a video posted to Facebook on Friday, Dr Evans said: “A month ago I was a victim of cyber flashing and malicious communications and blew the whistle by reporting it to the police and the parliamentary authorities as soon as this happened.
“The first set of messages I got was on a day I was with my wife and I got a one-time open photo on WhatsApp of an explicit image of a naked lady. As soon as I got these the next day I reported it to the police, the authorities and the chief whip.
“Ten days later I got another set of messages, this time however, I was sat with my team in the constituency office, so we were able to record the conversation and catch photos and videos of the messages coming through including another explicit female image.”
He added: “I’m just pleased I blew the whistle, reported it to the authorities and it’s now being looked into.”
The honeytrap sexting scam has been described as “spear phishing”, a type of cyber attack that targets specific groups.
Spear phishing involves scammers pretending to be trusted senders in order to steal personal or sensitive information.
Jeremy Hunt appeared to give his support to Mr Wragg, describing his apology as “courageous and fulsome” following the Tory MP’s claim he was manipulated into sharing colleagues’ personal contacts.
The chancellor told broadcasters: “The events of the last few days have been a great cause for concern.
“The MP involved has given a courageous and fulsome apology.
“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.”
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the “revelations” were “incredibly concerning”.
Asked if Mr Wragg should resign, she said: “That’s a question for the Conservatives. The police investigation is now under way and it is right that we allow that investigation to take its course.”
She added: “I’m very concerned about what seems to have happened in this incident, especially about MPs’ telephone numbers being passed on to unknown sources.
“That is really concerning and it is right that there is a proper investigation into this.
“In positions of responsibility we always have to think about our actions but there are also malevolent players out there who are trying to influence politics in these benign ways.”
A Parliamentary spokesperson said: “Parliament takes security extremely seriously and works closely with government in response to such incidents.
“We provide Members and staff with tailored advice, making them aware of security risks and how to manage their digital safety.
“We are encouraging anyone affected who has concerns to contact the Parliamentary Security Department.”
Criminals may act anonymously or dishonestly online in an attempt to connect with people who have access to valuable and sensitive information.
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