A senior Tory member, William Wragg, recently admitted to sharing the personal contact numbers of fellow MPs with someone he met on a dating app, as reported by the Times. Wragg expressed fear that the individual had compromising information on him, leading him to make the regrettable decision. He acknowledged his mistake and apologized for the harm caused by his actions.
This revelation comes in the midst of reports that at least 12 men in Westminster have been targeted with unsolicited texts and explicit images in a suspected honeytrap scheme, with Leicestershire Police currently investigating one of the cases reported last month.
Wragg admitted to sending intimate pictures of himself to a man he met on the gay dating app Grindr, feeling coerced by the person who had sensitive information about him. He expressed remorse for his actions, stating that his weakness had caused harm to others.
In a separate incident, a former MP shared his experience of being targeted with flirtatious messages and explicit images through WhatsApp, raising concerns about the coordinated nature of the scam. Several other individuals have reported similar encounters, with attempts made to trap them with explicit images.
Bob Seely, a Conservative MP, expressed sympathy for Wragg and highlighted the challenges of modern political life, including risks such as honeytraps and cyberattacks. The Parliamentary spokesperson emphasized the importance of security measures and urged affected individuals to contact the Parliamentary Security Department for support.
The incidents involving Wragg and other MPs shed light on the vulnerabilities faced by public figures in the digital age, underscoring the need for heightened vigilance and precautions in the realm of online interactions.