But, on Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for the Conservative whips’ office said: “Following Will Wragg’s decision to stand down from his role on the Public Accounts and 1922 committees, he has also informed the whip in chief that he voluntarily renounced his functions. the Conservative whip.
Wragg admitted last week he was targeted by a scammer on dating app Grindr and leaked the home phone numbers of a number of MPs, who were later also targeted by the scandal phishing. “I was scared. I’m mortified. I’m really sorry that my weakness hurt other people,” he told the Times at the time.
Outcry
POLITICO first revealed last week that Westminster MPs, staff and journalists had been targeted with flirty WhatsApp messages from two unknown phone numbers that, in several cases, were forwarded to the sender sending explicit images.
Wragg’s admission that he shared the phone numbers of some of his colleagues with the honey trapper sparked a torrent of criticism from fellow Conservatives, former secretary of state Nadine Dorries and MPs Conservatives Andrea Jenkyns and Jacob Rees-Mogg having all put their foot down.
Others reacted sympathetically, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who welcomed Wragg’s decision to come forward and apologise. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government had refused to remove the whip from Wragg.
To date, POLITICO has directly verified that at least 21 British politicians received unsolicited WhatsApp messages through one or both phone numbers, which alternately used the names “Charlie” or “Abi.” Those targeted include Labor and Conservative MPs, including a serving minister in the British government.
At least two police forces are investigating the scandal, in London and Leicestershire.
Politices
