A man has been arrested in connection with the Westminster "honeytrap" scandal. On Wednesday, police in London arrested a man in his mid-20s on suspicion of
harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.
The Metropolitan Police informed multiple victims shortly after the arrest. The man, believed to be a Labour Party member, was immediately administratively suspended from the party upon notification of the arrest. The Labour Party has declined to comment further due to the ongoing police investigation.
Earlier this year, several men, mostly working in politics, reported receiving unsolicited, flirtatious WhatsApp messages from individuals using the names "Charlie" or "Abi." In some cases, explicit images were exchanged.
Former MP William Wragg resigned the Conservative whip after admitting he gave the phone numbers of fellow MPs to a man he met on a dating app because he was "scared." Other targets included then-Conservative MP Luke Evans, who reported being a victim of cyber-flashing and malicious communications.
In April, the Metropolitan Police announced an investigation into reports of unsolicited messages being sent to MPs and others. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said, “On Wednesday, 26 June, police executed a warrant at an address in Islington. A man was arrested on suspicion of harassment and committing offences under the Online Safety Act. He was taken into custody where he remains. The arrest relates to an investigation by the Met’s Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team following reports of unsolicited messages sent to MPs and others. The investigation remains ongoing.”
Police first became aware of the messages in late 2023, but news of them began to emerge publicly in April. Wragg told The Times he had been chatting with someone on an app who subsequently asked him for the phone numbers of others. "They had compromising things on me. They wouldn't leave me alone... I gave them some numbers, not all of them." He apologized for his "weakness" which he said had "caused other people hurt."
Following Wragg's revelations, other politicians and political journalists reported their own experiences of receiving unwanted messages. Then-Conservative MP for Bosworth, Luke Evans, revealed he had been a “victim of cyber-flashing.” As many as 20 people in political circles are believed to have received unsolicited messages. Photo by Cnyborg, Wikimedia commons.