‘The lesson for MPs is they must be very careful about cybersecurity
POLICE are examining claims of a Parliamentary honeytrap after a top Tory MP said he was pressured into revealing colleagues’ sensitive details.
William Wragg said he was “manipulated” into giving phone numbers after he sent X-rated images of himself to a man he met on a dating site.
Some MPs fear it may be attempted spying by Russian or Chinese agents but security sources played that down, saying it was not a sophisticated plan reliant on information that was not publicly accessible – a more traditional hallmark of state-sponsored traps, it is understood.
The Met yesterday confirmed it was investigating and officers had been in contact with Leicestershire Police and Parliamentary security teams.
At least 12 Tory and Labour MPs, Parliamentary staff and journalists received flirtatious messages from an unrecognised number – two unnamed politicians are understood to have been sent an X-rated photo.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “The events of the last few days have been a great cause for concern.
Apology
“The MP involved has given a courageous and fulsome apology.
“But the lesson here for all MPs is that they need to be very careful about cybersecurity and indeed it is the lesson for members of the public as well, because this is something that we are all having to face in our daily lives.” Mr Wragg, who is vice chair of the influential 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs, told The Times that he sent intimate pictures of himself to a man on dating app Grindr.
The 36-year-old, who has held the seat of Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester since 2015, added: “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.”
Dr Luke Evans, Tory MP for Bosworth, revealed last night he was embroiled in the Westminster sting when he was sent a snap of a naked woman out of the blue via WhatsApp.
Message
He said in a Facebook video he was sent a second message 10 days later and informed police.
The Leicestershire force confirmed that it is investigating a report of malicious communications.
More than a dozen Westminster figures, including at least three MPs plus political journalists and advisers, are believed to have been targeted in what appears to be a honeytrap.
It was disclosed this week that a number of politicians had been contacted by a person who would allege that they had met. Politics website Politico reported the recipients had received unsolicited messages from two numbers identifying themselves as “Abi” or “Charlie”. The contents included details of the MP’s career and of their campaigns.
The honeytrap sexting has been described as spear phishing, a type of cyber attack that targets specific groups where scammers pretend to be trusted senders to steal personal or sensitive info.
Treasury minister Gareth Davies called the situation “incredibly troubling and very serious” but maintained that Mr Wragg would keep the party whip while the incident was being investigated. The Tory MP for Grantham and Stamford added Mr Wragg “is continuing as a Conservative MP and it’s right that there’s investigation.
“He’s rightly apologised, and, as I say, that’s a matter for Will Wragg and the party generally.” Last September a researcher was arrested in September under the Official Secrets Act amid claims that he was spying for China.The suspect had access to Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Last month the UK slapped sanctions on Beijing after accusing state-backed hackers of t two “malicious” cyberattacks, including on the elections watchdog and on Tory politicians.
Leading China critic Bob Seely MP told Newsnight he suspected the sting originated abroad, stating that it was “crude enough to be the Russians”.
Democracy
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, ex-leader of the Tories, urged authorities to increase security.
He told the Daily Mail: “We’ve been slow to protect people. This is an assault on Parliamentary democracy but everyone is scared stiff of calling out foreign agents.”
THE Westminster “honeytrap” affair will have many people shaking their heads. For some younger people, the idea of sending saucy self-portraits over the phone seems perfectly normal. Others will think this is a very strange way to behave.
But MP William Wragg was involved in a consensual relationship with another adult, or so he firmly believed.
What is more worrying is the fact that he provided a man he met on a dating website with the phone numbers of other MPs.
It seems, however, that at that stage Mr Wragg was being coerced. He may have acted foolishly, as he says, but he appears to have been the victim of a crime.
This is why it is right for police, rather than party managers, to deal with the issue.