‘Labour Party member’ arrested as police probe honeytrap plot
A man understood to be a member of the Labour Party has been arrested as part of a police probe into a sexting scam that targeted political figures.
The suspect, aged in his mid-twenties, was held in Islington, north London, on Wednesday on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.
A police investigation began in April after it was suggested that at least 12 men with links to Westminster had received unsolicited messages in a honeytrap plot.
An unknown scammer is said to have used the aliases ‘Charlie’ and ‘Abi’ while sending flirtatious messages to attempt to coax MPs and other figures into sending explicit pictures.
Then-senior Conservative MP William Wragg resigned the party whip after he admitted giving politicians’ phone numbers to a suspected scammer.
Fellow Tory Dr Luke Evans called for a full review of Parliament’s system of investigating incidents reported by MPs after he was also targeted.
Wragg admitted he gave colleagues’ phone numbers to someone on a dating app amid fears that intimate images of himself would be leaked.
The Hazel Grove MP said he was sorry for his “weakness” in responding, and resigned from his role leading the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
He also stepped down as vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee, and chose to surrender the Conservative whip.
By Margaret Davis and David Hughes, Press Association