Tory sufferer of relationship app catfishing shares highly effective message after ordeal

A former Tory MP who was intimidated into handing over phone numbers of colleagues by a dating app fraudster has urged others to learn from what happened to him.

William Wragg, who stepped down as MP for Hazel Grove, was the victim of a sinister honeytrap scheme after exchanging explicit images with someone he met on dating app Grindr. The 36-year-old said he felt compromised and threatened and was “mortified” by what happened.

Speaking with the Sunday Times he said: “I feel things like this are going to get more common with AI, deepfakes … And what we have to do is break down the stigma so that people who find themselves in that situation don’t feel so alone. I think my story serves as a reminder about the need for vigilance. If something doesn’t quite seem right, it probably isn’t.

“If you do find yourself getting into a situation, don’t feel ashamed about alerting people to it, or speaking to the authorities, or your friends and family. You shouldn’t get to such a state whereby you’re in a really bad way. It’s not worth that.”

Mr Wragg said he’d suffered suicidal thoughts as a result of the “catfishing” he suffered, and was “mortified”. He handed over the phone numbers of around a dozen people, who were subsequently contacted with mysterious flirtatious figures called ‘Charlie’ and ‘Abi’.

Mr Wragg said he wrote a letter of apology to all those whose numbers he passed on. He said he’d met a tall, handsome man on the app, who claimed he worked for a cancer charity.

After a couple of days of messaging and phone calls, Mr Wragg said he was starting to “fall” for the man, who claimed to be called Charlie. But he failed to show up for a meeting at a pub in Westminster.

When Charlie resurfaced, he named several MPs and told Mr Wragg he had two minutes to hand over their numbers. The former MP, who was then vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, said he felt “threatened” and “compromised”.

MPs he was close to have since said Mr Wragg was the victim of grooming and coercive control, the Sunday Times reports. Anxious friends even arranged a police welfare visit for him after he spoke about what happened in an interview with The Times in April.

A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act. The Labour Party member has had his membership suspended.

If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123.

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