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 probe began in April earlier this year after it was suggested 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 sophisticated scam designed to coax MPs and other figures in political circles into sending explicit pictures and other private or sensitive information.
Unlike others who had been approached by the catfish accounts, 36-year-old now-ex-MP 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 catfish.
In the days that followed, Wragg claimed he felt threatened and pressured into sharing’ the phone numbers and personal information of Westminster colleagues to the mystery account.
He feared the catfish would leak his intimate images in retaliation if he did not comply.
Blackmail and panic attacks
Speaking to the BBC in his first broadcast interview about his involvement, 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 the personal information, the catfish told Wragg to vouch for its identity with its next potential victims, with the catfish telling its fresh targets he was a former researcher for Mr Wragg.
Wragg agreed, which is what he feels “the most regret for” as it was “deceitful”.
Not long after he was allegedly blackmailed, Wragg began to have panic attacks, with bouts of yelling, crying, and swearing shocking his sleeping flatmates.
He told the BBC that while his housemates were worried, he could not explain to them what was going on.
Westminster resignation
Then, when the story broke, the humiliation and shame became too much for him to handle.
He recounted photographers and the press camped outside his parents’ house, which is where he drove as suicidal thoughts began to set in.
Shortly after receiving the appropriate medical attention, he returned to Westminster to resign as Conservative whip and from his posts on two parliamentary committees.
He had already announced 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, 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.”
MPs’ mental health
On his final day as an MP, he said he had a consult with a psychologist, which he thought to be a fitting end for his nine-year tenure at 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 aged in his mid-20s 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 or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
Press Association – Rachel Vickers-Price