Senior Tory calls for action against honeytrap scam MP

Dame Andrea Jenkyns accuses William Wragg of ‘unforgivable’ behaviour after he handed over phone numbers to man he met on Grindr

A former minister has called for action to be taken against William Wragg as she became the second Conservative MP to reveal she was targeted in a suspected Westminster honeytrap.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns accused fellow Tory MP Mr Wragg of “unforgivable” behaviour after he admitted responding to messages on a gay dating app and sending on the phone numbers of parliamentary colleagues after fearing exposure.

Police are investigating reports of a parliamentary honeytrap sexting scam in which more than a dozen Westminster figures have been targeted.

It was later confirmed Mr Wragg would keep the whip amid concerns that he was also a victim. He made an apology that was applauded by senior Cabinet figures including Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, who called it “courageous and fulsome”.

Responding to a GB News report that included a string of messages purportedly sent to one of the Westminster insiders targeted, Dame Andrea wrote: “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.”

Earlier this year, Dame Andrea said that a man who roamed a high street in her constituency threatening to kill her was let off by police after he “said it was a joke”.

She said she had received eight death threats since entering Parliament in 2010 and received 70 emails from one constituent who told her to buy a stab vest.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Dame Andrea said 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. I really hope to God they can trace who’s behind the messages – it’s nauseating.”

On Friday, Dr Luke Evans, the Tory MP for Bosworth, said he had been sent a photo of a naked woman out of the blue over WhatsApp. He received a second message 10 days later and passed the communications on to police.

“I have put my name up to say, well, I hope others come forward,” Dr Evans said in a Facebook video. “I’m just pleased I blew the whistle, reported it to the authorities and now it’s being looked into.”

It is understood the name linked to the WhatsApp account behind the messages he received was Abi – the same name identified by others who suspect they were also targeted.

Pressure has grown for Mr Wragg to face an investigation by the MPs’ standards tsar and step aside from his positions as a vice-chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers and chairman of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee.

Nigel Farage, the honorary president of Reform UK, said it was “reprehensible to give out private phone numbers of public figures to people who you know are bad actors”.

Asked whether he believed Mr Wragg should be investigated by Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, he replied: “I think there is a case [for that].”

In an article for The Spectator, Eliot Wilson, a former clerk in the House of Commons, accused Mr Wragg of “reckless, irresponsible, foolish and ultimately selfish mistakes” that had “serious consequences” for other MPs.

Last week, Mr Wragg told The Times he was “scared” when he ha divulged the numbers of colleagues and that the man who approached him had “compromising things” on him.

“I’ve hurt people by being weak,” he said. “I was scared. I’m mortified. I’m so sorry that my weakness has caused other people hurt.”