Man arrested in connection with the ‘Honeytrap’ scandal in Westminster

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A Labour Party member has been arrested in connection with the ‘honeytrap’ scandal that rocked Westminster.

The man, in his mid-twenties, was arrested at an address in Islington on Wednesday morning, the Metropolitan Police said.

Several victims were informed by police that he was arrested on suspicion of breaching the Online Safety Act and harassment. The Labour Party is said to have suspended him after being informed of his arrest.

Earlier this year, well-known MP William Wragg was suspended from the Conservatives because of his role in the scandal.

He admitted giving the scammer the phone numbers of colleagues after sharing explicit images of himself when they began chatting on a dating app.

Mr Wragg told the Just he was “afraid” because the man had compromising information about him.

In April, the Met launched an investigation after “unwanted messages” were sent to a number of MPs, staff and political journalists in Westminster.

Politico had previously reported that politicians had received unwanted messages from someone who called himself “Abi” or “Charlie” at two unknown numbers.

The messages included details about the MPs’ and staff’s careers and the campaigns they had worked on to build a relationship with the victims. They then moved into sexually explicit messages, with “Abi” or “Charlie” sending victims explicit images and demanding nude photos in return.

It is believed that two of the people attacked then sent a clear picture of themselves. The attack has been described as a spear phishing attempt. Spear phishing involves fraudsters posing as trusted senders in order to steal personal or confidential information.

Other high-profile figures targeted by the honeytrapper included Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans, who said he received unsolicited explicit images and messages via WhatsApp. At least 12 men in political circles are believed to have received the unsolicited messages.

A statement from the Met said: “Police executed an arrest warrant at an address in Islington.

“A man was arrested on suspicion of harassment and breaches of the Online Safety Act. He was taken into custody where he remains.

“The arrest is in connection with an investigation being conducted by the Met’s Parliamentary Liaison and Investigations Team following reports of unwanted messages being sent to MPs and others.

“The investigation is ongoing.” As part of the investigation, officers interviewed everyone who had received messages from the fraudster, including Labour and Conservative MPs.