Man arrested in connection with Westminster ‘honeytrap’ scandal
A MP has raised concerns about Parliamentary concerns at Westminster (Alamy/PA)
A man has been arrested in connection with the “honeytrap” scandal which rocked Westminster, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
Multiple victims have been informed by the force that a man has been arrested in London on suspicion of offences under the Online Safety Act and harassment.
The man was arrested in Islington on Wednesday morning and taken into custody where he remains, the Met said.
The Met in April launched an investigation after “unsolicited messages” were sent to a number of MPs, staffers and political journalists working in Westminster.
It came after Politico reported that political figures had received the unsolicited messages from someone using two unfamiliar numbers calling themselves “Abi” or “Charlie”.
The messages would include details of the MPs and staffers’ careers and campaigns they had worked on to build rapport with victims. They would then descend into sexually explicit messaging, with “Abi” or “Charlie” sending graphic images to victims and asking for nude photographs in return.
It is understood that two of the individuals targeted responded by sending an explicit image of themselves, with the attack described as an attempt at spear phishing.
High profile former MP William Wragg was suspended by the Conservatives over his own role in the scandal.
He admitted sharing the phone numbers of colleagues with the scammer after having shared explicit images of himself when they began talking on a dating app.
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