William Wragg quits Tory party amid parliamentary sexting scandal

William Wragg will no longer sit as a Conservative MP after admitting giving politicians’ phone numbers to a suspected scammer.

The Hazel Grove MP admitted last week that he had given colleagues’ phone numbers to someone on a dating app amid fears that intimate images of himself would be leaked after he was targeted in a parliamentary sexting scam. Mr Wragg had previously announced his intention to leave Parliament at the next election and will now sit as an Independent.

The party’s whips office said he was “voluntarily relinquishing the Conservative whip” after he had already stepped back from his roles as vice-chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee and chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

READ MORE: 'I'm a victim of Netflix cyberstalker Matthew Hardy - he left me scared for my life'

Scotland Yard has said it is investigating reports of the so-called “honey trap” scam after it was suggested that at least 12 men in political circles received unsolicited messages, raising security concerns. The investigation is not thought to involve the security services.

The unknown scammer is said to have used the aliases “Charlie” and “Abi” while sending flirtatious messages to coax MPs into sending explicit pictures. Mr Wragg said he was sorry for his “weakness” in responding, an apology which was praised as “courageous and fulsome” by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

But pressure has mounted in recent days amid concerns over parliamentary security, with critics from across the political divide questioning Mr Wragg’s behaviour.

Mr Wragg reportedly told the Times last week that he had provided the personal phone numbers of colleagues to a man who he had been chatting to on gay dating app Grindr. The 36-year-old openly gay Conservative MP, who has been the Member of Parliament since 2015, told the newspaper he was “mortified” about the incident.

"They had compromising things on me," he told The Times. "They wouldn’t leave me alone. They would ask for people. 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."

The newspaper also reported that Mr Wragg said the pair 'exchanged pictures' and were 'meant to meet up' before the user began asking for the phone numbers of people. “I’ve hurt people by being weak. I was scared. I’m mortified. I’m so sorry that my weakness has caused other people hurt", he added when speaking to the publication.

A spokesperson for the Conservative whips’ office said on Tuesday (April 9): “Following Will Wragg’s decision to step back from his roles on the Public Accounts and 1922 committees, he has also notified the Chief Whip that he is voluntarily relinquishing the Conservative Whip.”