Ex-minister’s fury as she is first woman to reveal herself as sext trap target
She blasts top Tory after he dished out phone details
A FORMER minister has become the first woman to reveal that she was targeted in a Westminster sexting honeytrap.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns is the third Conservative MP to go public about being contacted in a so-called ‘spear phishing’ attempt over WhatsApp.
She called for action to be taken against her Tory colleague, William Wragg, after he admitted passing on phone numbers due to fears about blackmail.
The senior Tory confessed last week that he had provided the details of some targeted to the honeytrappers after sending intimate pictures to a man he met on the gay dating app, Grindr.
He told The Times he was ‘scared’ that whoever was behind the dating profile ‘had compromising things on me’ and that he was sorry for ‘being weak’.
But yesterday Dame Andrea, 49, accused Mr Wragg of ‘unforgivable’ behaviour and said action should be taken against him after it emerged that he will keep the Tory whip. The scandal is being investigated
‘He compromised MPs, for God’s sake’
by two police forces as the number of feared victims – including a serving minister, MPs and political staffers and journalists – has risen to at least 18.
Responding to a GB News report, Dame Andrea tweeted: ‘I too received the WhatsApp and reported it. It was worded identically, mentioning “conference”. Unlike some MPs I am not happy with Wragg, as a mother with a young child who only recently had threats. It’s unforgivable of him to compromise the security of fellow MPs. Action is needed!’
Mr Wragg has not faced any disciplinary action by the party amid concern that he is also a victim and has received the backing of Cabinet members and senior Tories. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said yesterday he did not think his colleague should step down as vice- chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hailed his apology as ‘courageous and fulsome’. But other colleagues are furious with Mr Wragg, with some branding him ‘Toe Wragg’.
Pressure is growing on the MP – who was already standing down at the next election – to also consider his position as a select committee chairman.
Dame Andrea told the Telegraph that she received the suspected scam message at the start of this year and has informed her party whips. ‘Why are they protecting Wragg? It’s bizarre,’ she said. ‘I told them that he’s compromised MPs, for God’s sake. I’m a mother and he shouldn’t be handing out anybody’s numbers.
‘How is it “brave”? The brave thing to do would have been to ignore the blackmail.’ On Friday, Dr Luke Evans, Tory MP for Bosworth, revealed he had reported to police a naked picture of a woman he had been sent.
The messages follow a similar pattern: Influential figures in Westminster are contacted by a person calling themselves either ‘Charlie’ or ‘Abi’. The scammer claims to have met the victim in one of Parliament’s bars or at a political event before sending flirtatious messages and then naked pictures, in a bid to get the victim to reciprocate. Two MPs are said to have sent pictures of themselves, raising concerns over blackmail. It is not known who is behind the honeytrap messages nor what their intention is.
Mr Wragg has not responded to requests for comment.