Member of Parliament Resigns from Conservative Party Amid Controversy Surrounding Sexting Scandal and Honey Trap Incident
According to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, there are many individuals who are intentionally causing harm to our democratic processes.
MP William Wragg has resigned from the Conservative Party after admitting that he was “manipulated” into sharing phone numbers of politicians with someone he met on a gay dating app.
The party’s whips office announced on Tuesday that Mr. Wragg was voluntarily surrendering the Conservative whip.
Mr. Wragg had already stepped down from his roles as vice-chairman of the influential backbench 1922 Committee and chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
He had previously declared his intention to leave Parliament at the next election and will now serve as an independent.
‘Sack Himself’
During a phone-in on LBC on Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was questioned about allowing Mr. Wragg to “sack himself,” to which he responded that the incident is under investigation by two different police forces, limiting what he can comment on.
He emphasized the importance of being cautious about unsolicited messages, particularly for those in public life.
Related Stories
“As we are witnessing globally, there are many malicious actors trying to disrupt our democratic systems,” Prime Minister Sunak pointed out.
When asked about why he didn’t immediately remove the Tory whip from Mr. Wragg, Mr. Sunak explained that the ongoing police investigation should be allowed to proceed.
He emphasized the importance of letting the police handle the investigations independently.
Conservative Party Chairman Richard Holden supported Mr. Wragg’s decision to resign from the whip.
‘They Wouldn’t Leave Me Alone’
Mr. Wragg, in a recent interview with The Times of London, revealed that he shared personal phone numbers of colleagues after feeling threatened by a potential blackmailer he met on Grindr.
Mr. Wragg expressed regret for his actions, which were described as “courageous and candid” by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt initially. However, as security concerns intensified, political pressure mounted.
Describing the situation, Mr. Wragg stated, “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.”
Further elaborating, he said, “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.”
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is investigating reports related to the “honey trap” scam involving at least 12 men in the political sphere who received similar messages, causing security alarms.
The perpetrator, using the aliases “Charlie” and “Abi,” enticed MPs to share explicit pictures.
Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden criticized the decision not to remove Mr. Wragg from the whip, calling it a sign of weakness on Rishi Sunak’s part.
He stated, “Rishi Sunak prioritizes party management above all else and even fails in that aspect. This is not how a country should be governed.”
PA Media and Chris Summers contributed to this report.
