Twelve men are now known to have been the targets of a potential "honey trap" scandal that has engulfed Westminster politics, one of them being a minister in the government.
At least six Westminster workers, including a senior Labour MP, four party employees, and a political journalist, were the targets of unsolicited texts from two suspicious mobile numbers belonging to individuals going by the names "Abi" or "Charlie", according to a report released by POLITICO on April 3.
After the news broke out, senior Conservative MP William Wragg disclosed that he was "manipulated" into giving a man he met on the gay dating app Grindr the personal phone numbers of his coworkers after sending him private photos of himself.
On Friday, the Met stated that its officers were "in contact" with Leicestershire Police and parliament security regarding the reported scandal after politicians and their staff were concerned about being blackmailed.
What is a honey trap?
A honey trap is a scam whereby someone appealing tricks someone else into disclosing information or acting rashly.
There have been several cases with this scam with the most recent headlines involving Conservative MP William Wragg.
The Commons Public Administration Committee Chairman, MP Wragg, expressed his shock and dismay after exchanging numbers with a man on Grindr who "had compromising things on me".
He told the Times: “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.
“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.”
The MP had already confirmed that he would stand down at the next election before this issue arose.
It has been advised that MPs who are being blackmailed to get in touch with the authorities rather than their party.
