A Conservative MP has said he was targeted in the parliamentary honeytrap sexting scam and was the politician that first alerted police and Commons authorities.
Dr Luke Evans, the MP for Bosworth, in Leicestershire, said that he was approached in March by two different numbers on WhatsApp “who purported to know me”.
In a video message on Facebook, he said was the victim of cyber flashing and malicious communications “and blew the whistle by reporting it to the police and the parliamentary authorities as soon as this happened”.
Mr Evans said: “The first set of messages I got was on a day I was with my wife and I got a one-time open photo on WhatsApp of an explicit image of a naked lady. As soon as I got these the next day I reported it to the police, the authorities and the chief whip.
“Ten days later I got another set of messages, this time however, I was sat with my team in the constituency office, so we were able to record the conversation and catch photos and videos of the messages coming through including another explicit female image.”
Mr Evans said he had wanted to keep the matter private due to the ongoing police investigation, but decided to come forward due to the media attention surrounding the sexting scam.
He added: “I’m just pleased I blew the whistle, reported it to the authorities and it’s now being looked into.”
Leicestershire Police confirmed on Thursday it is investigating a report of malicious communications after a number of unsolicited messages were sent to a Leicestershire MP last month.
It follows reports this week that a serving minister, some MPs, party staffers and political journalists were among those who received unsolicited messages from two unknown WhatsApp users.
Last night, Tory MP William Wragg admitted to The Times that he shared the personal phone numbers of some of his colleagues to a man he met on gay dating app Grindr.
Mr Wragg apologised for the “hurt” he caused and said he was “manipulated” by the person after he had sent intimate pictures of himself.
“They had compromising things on me. They wouldn’t leave me alone. They would ask for people,” he told the newspaper.
“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.”
Many MPs have been sympathetic to Mr Wragg’s situation, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt praising his “courageous and fulsome” apology.
On Friday, Scotland Yard confirmed it was in contact with Leicestershire Police and Parliamentary Security “following reporting of unsolicited messages to members of Parliament”, amid concerns other MPs and their staff could be victims of blackmail.
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