Senior MP quits Tory parliamentary party amid sexting scandal

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Senior MP William Wragg has quit the Conservative parliamentary party after admitting he provided phone numbers of colleagues to a man he was in contact with on Grindr, the gay dating app.

He has voluntarily relinquished the Conservative whip, according to a party spokesperson, meaning Wragg will sit as an independent MP in the House of Commons.

Wragg is at the centre of Westminster’s so-called honeytrap sexting scandal that involves at least 17 instances of individuals receiving unsolicited messages from an individual calling themselves “Charlie” or “Abi”. As well as Wragg, those sent messages included Tory MPs Luke Evans and Dame Andrea Jenkyns.

The person behind the messages has in some instances sent explicit images and solicited sexual content.

Wragg told The Times last week he had provided the phone numbers of several MPs to a man with whom he was in contact on Grindr after he was blackmailed about images he had shared with the same person.

The MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester, who is gay, said he had shared the contact details because he was “scared” the person “had compromising things on me”.

Wragg was criticised at the weekend by several MPs and political commentators who said the 36 year-old had demonstrated poor judgement that meant his various parliamentary roles were untenable.

On Monday it emerged Wragg had resigned from his post of vice-chair of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs, and from his role of chair of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee.

This came after the Metropolitan Police said it had launched an investigation into the sexting scandal at Westminster, urging MPs who have fallen prey to a suspected “spear-phishing” attack to come forward to the authorities. Leicestershire police is also investigating.

The government has not attributed these messages to the activity of a hostile state, such as Russia, but speculation about the people or organisation responsible has been rife across Westminster.

Downing Street advised politicians on Monday to approach unsolicited messages with scepticism but refrained from further comment because of the police investigations.

Several senior members of the government have expressed sympathy for Wragg. Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said on Sunday the MP had “made a foolish error and he has apologised for it” and “I don’t think he should step down” from the 1922 committee.

Wragg was already planning to stand down as an MP at the general election expected later this year.

He has been contacted for comment.