A high-ranking official of the Conservative Party in the UK has confessed to sharing private information of fellow MPs with an individual he encountered online, after sending personal, explicit images of himself, leaving him feeling vulnerable.
William Wragg made the revelation to The Times, sharing that he had imparted colleagues’ contact information to a man he interacted with on a dating application. This incident is believed to be a segment of a larger operation targeting individuals working in the British parliament.
The Times further informed that these colleagues were recipients of unwarranted flirtatious messages, with two MPs reciprocating by sharing explicit images of themselves.
Wragg, 36, expressed to the newspaper that he was placed in a compromising situation. “They persistently hassled me. They demanded contact information of others. I provided some, but not all numbers. I requested him to discontinue. He manipulated me, leading to unintentional harm to others,” he stated.
A report by Politico stated that 12 men, inclusive of a serving government minister, were the focus of the suspected operation, receiving flirtatious messages and images from individuals calling themselves Abi or Charlie.
Neither The Times not Politico provided any indication as to who might be responsible for the messaging campaign.
Authorities in central England are currently reviewing a report of harmful communications.
UK’s Finance Minister, Jeremy Hunt expressed deep concern over the recent events and stressed the significance of cybersecurity for all MPs.
A parliamentary representative shared that they are investigating the messages and expressed elevated worries about MPs’ susceptibility to cyber threats and potential bribery. “Parliament takes its security very seriously, responding decisively to such incidents in close collaboration with the government,” the spokesperson articulated. “We are urging anyone affected with concerns to get in touch with the Parliamentary Security Department.”
Wragg, a member of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party since 2015 and chairman of a cross-party parliamentary committee overseeing constitutional issues and standards, declined to provide immediate additional comments when approached.
