Labour has suspended a party member, over Honeytrap scandal
 

[Labour has suspended a party member after
being notified of their arrest in connection
with the Westminster "honeytrap" scandal.

Police arrested a man in his mid-20s on
suspicion of harassment and offences under
the Online Safety Act in London on Wednesday.
Multiple alleged victims were informed by the
Metropolitan Police shortly afterwards.
Earlier this year a string of men, mostly working
in politics, revealed that they had received
unsolicited, flirtatious WhatsApp messages
from people calling themselves "Charlie"
or "Abi".
In some cases explicit images were exchanged.

In April, William Wragg, then an MP,
resigned the Conservative whip after
saying that he gave the phone numbers
of fellow MPs to a man he met on a
dating app because he was "scared".

Others targeted included the
then-Conservative MP, Luke Evans,
who said he had contacted the police
after becoming "a victim of cyber-flashing
and malicious communications".
In April the Met announced it was
investigating reports of unsolicited
messages being sent to MPs and others.

In the course of the police
investigation, statements have been
taken from all those believed to have
been subject to unsolicited messages,
including both Labour and Conservative MPs.


A Labour spokesperson said Wednesday
was the first time the party had been
made aware of allegations about the
party member.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police
said: “On Wednesday 26 June,
police executed a warrant at an address
in Islington.
"A man was arrested on suspicion
of harassment and committing offences
under the Online Safety Act.
He was taken into custody where he remains.

"The arrest relates to an investigation
being carried out by the Met’s Parliamentary
Liaison and Investigation Team following
reports of unsolicited messages sent
to MPs and others.

"The investigation remains ongoing.”

Police had first been made aware of the
messages late in 2023, but news of them
began to emerge publicly in April.
Following initial reports about the
messages, Mr Wragg told The Times he
had been chatting with someone on
an app who subsequently asked him for
the numbers of others.

"They had compromising things on me.
They wouldn't leave me alone... I gave them
some numbers, not all of them."
He apologised for “my weakness” which
he said had “caused other people hurt”.

Subsequently other politicians and
political journalists spoke of their
own experiences of receiving
unwanted messages

The following week, Luke Evans,
then Conservative MP for Bosworth,
said he had been a “victim of cyber-flashing”.

As many as 20 people in political circles
were thought to have received
unsolicited messages.]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvv3lq79dro


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