Former MP William Wragg has described the feeling of “enormous guilt” that washed over him as he realised he had fallen victim to a sophisticated scam designed to target politicians in Westminster.
A police investigation began in April this year after it was suggested that at least 12 men with links to Westminster had received unsolicited messages from the aliases “Charlie” and “Abi”.
The fake accounts were allegedly engaged in a scam designed to coax MPs and other figures in political circles into sending explicit pictures and other private or sensitive information.
Unlike others who were contacted by the catfish accounts, 36-year-old now former MP Mr Wragg approached “Charlie” himself after spotting the profile on gay dating app Grindr.
He believed the account to be a real person before exchanging explicit photographs with the scammer.
In the days that followed, Mr Wragg claimed he felt threatened and pressured into sharing the phone numbers and personal information of his Westminster colleagues with the mystery account. He feared the scammer would leak his intimate images in retaliation if he did not comply.
Speaking to the BBC in his first broadcast interview about his involvement, Mr Wragg said he spotted the first news articles about the Westminster honeytrap scandal on the train.
The former Conservative Party whip told the broadcaster: “My stomach just dropped. When I found out some of the things that had been going on, I just felt enormous guilt, enormous remorse.”
After the former Hazel Grove MP handed over his colleagues’ personal information, the scammer told Mr Wragg to vouch for his identity with his next potential victims. Mr Wragg agreed, which he says is the part he feels “the most regret for” as it was “deceitful”. The scammer then told his fresh targets that he was a former researcher for Mr Wragg.
Not long after he was allegedly blackmailed, Mr Wragg began to have panic attacks, with bouts of yelling, crying, and swearing causing alarm to his sleeping housemates.
He told the BBC that while his housemates were worried, he could not explain to them what was going on. Then, when the story broke, the humiliation and shame became too much for him to handle.
He recounted photographers and the press being camped outside his parents’ house, which was where he drove to as suicidal thoughts began to set in.
Shortly after receiving the appropriate medical attention, he returned to Westminster to resign the Conservative whip along with his posts on two parliamentary committees.
He had already announced that he would not run in the next general election.
Asked by BBC reporter Joe Pike how he feels seven months on from the scandal that ended his career in politics, Mr Wragg said: “I have no bitterness or anger left in me because I felt so wretched and awful in myself.”
He added: “It’s a source of great shame that my time in parliament ended in this way.”
On his final day as an MP, he said, he had a consultation with a psychologist, which he said he thought was a fitting end to his nine-year tenure in the Commons.
He then added a grim truth about the pressures of life within the walls of Westminster: “They have two mental health beds available at any one time for members of parliament,” he said. “It’s surprising how often they’re occupied.”
In June, a member of the Labour Party in his mid-twenties was apprehended in Islington, north London, on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act. He has since been released on bail.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch
