Tory MP William Wragg has ‘voluntarily’ given up the Conservative whip
Conservative MP William Wragg has resigned the whip after he giving his colleagues phone numbers to a suspected scammer he met on Grindr.
A spokesperson for the Conservative whips’ office said: ‘Following Will Wragg’s decision to step back from his roles on the Public Accounts and 1922 committees, he has also notified the Chief Whip that he is voluntarily relinquishing the Conservative Whip.’
Mr Wragg, MP for Hazel Grove and former chair of a Commons select committee, claimed to have been blackmailed into sharing personal info on his colleagues after falling victim to a honeypot scam on gay dating app, Grindr.
The MP said he was ‘scared’ the scammer ‘had compromising things on me’ and was pressured into sharing personal phone numbers of MPs, Commons staff and a political journalist.
A number of Westminster figures have been targeted by the scandal (Picture: Getty)
Speaking to The Times, Mr Wragg previously said: ‘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.
‘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.’
Scotland Yard has said it is investigating reports of the so-called ‘honey trap’ scam after it was suggested that at least 12 men in political circles received unsolicited messages, raising security concerns.
The investigation is not thought to involve the security services.
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The unknown scammer is said to have used the aliases ‘Charlie’ and ‘Abi’ while sending flirtatious messages to coax MPs into sending explicit pictures.
Mr Wragg was commended for his bravery in going public about the scam, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt praising his decision as ‘courageous and fulsome’.
But pressure has mounted in recent days amid concerns over parliamentary security, with critics from across the political divide questioning Mr Wragg’s behaviour.
Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said Mr Wragg had been ‘right’ to resign the whip, but declined to comment further when asked by Sky News whether he had been pressured into that decision.
Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said the fact Mr Wragg had not been stripped of the whip was ‘another indictment of Rishi Sunak’s weakness’.
He said: ‘His MPs were left yet again being sent out to defend a position that has collapsed.
‘Rishi Sunak puts party management first every time – and he can’t even do that properly. It is no way to run a country.’
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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