Wragg felt enormous guilt’ after giving up MPs’ details

Former MP William Wragg has described the feeling of “enormous guilt” that washed over him as he realised he had fallen victim to a sophisticated scam designed to target politicians in Westminster.

- RACHEL VICKERS-PRICE

A police investigation began in April this year after it was suggested that at least 12 men with links to Westminster had received unsolicited messages from the aliases “Charlie” and “Abi”. The fake accounts were allegedly engaged in a scam designed to coax MPs and other figures in political circles into sending explicit pictures and other private or sensitive information.

Unlike others who were contacted by the catfish accounts, 36year-old now former MP Mr Wragg approached “Charlie” himself after spotting the profile on gay dating app Grindr. He believed the account to be a real person before exchanging explicit photographs with the scammer.

In the days that followed, Mr Wragg claimed he felt threatened and pressured into sharing the phone numbers and personal information of his Westminster colleagues with the mystery account. He feared the scammer would leak his intimate images in retaliation if he did not comply.