MPs who responded to a Westminster honeytrap were lured in by a scammer using photographs showing two students who were then in their late teens, The Times can reveal.
The perpetrator used nearly decade-old images of a financial analyst and a lawyer, who have no involvement with politics, to target as many as two dozen MPs, political researchers and journalists in Westminster.
The victims of the scam were contacted on WhatsApp or Grindr, a gay dating app, by someone posing as “Charlie” or “Abi” who claimed to have met them previously.
In some cases the targets, almost all of whom were men in their 20s or 30s, were sent explicit photographs and were persuaded to send naked images of themselves in return.
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The profile photographs used by “Charlie” and “Abi” on social media were stolen from the Facebook pages of a financial analyst working in London and a lawyer in Birmingham, both 28.
The images used included one showing the analyst wearing a Levi’s T-shirt in a bar and another showing the pair having dinner on a Turkish beach.
The images, which were still available this week on their Facebook pages, were taken in 2015 when the pair, who attended the same sixth form, were in their late teens.
The analyst has contacted police over the stolen images and was shocked to discover how they have been used, Politico reported.
He deleted his LinkedIn and Facebook pages shortly after being contacted by The Times. The female lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
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There is no suggestion of any connection between either of the individuals, who The Times are not naming, and those who were targeted in Westminster. It is unclear why their photographs were used in the scam. The explicit photos sent to targets were not images of the analyst or lawyer.
The identity of the honeytrapper, and of the people pictured in the social media accounts they used, has been the subject of much speculation in Westminster.
They appear to have been operating for more than a year and have targeted disparate groups of people involved in politics, including during last year’s Labour conference, in the aftermath of the Mid Bedfordshire by-election and as recently as last month.
Luke Evans, the MP for Bosworth, has revealed he was targeted by the Westminster honeytrapper. The Times has also spoken to another male Tory MP who said he was targeted by “Abi” in the past month.
At least three MPs contacted by “Charlie” received naked pictures and reciprocated by sending back explicit images of themselves.
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William Wragg was one of them. After victims suspected he was involved with the plot to solicit pictures of colleagues, The Times approached him and he confessed to giving “Charlie” the phone numbers of some colleagues.
Wragg said he was “scared” that the man “had compromising things on me”.
At least two other Tory MPs also sent images of themselves to “Charlie”, but are not believed to have informed party whips.
On Tuesday, Wragg stepped down from his two senior parliamentary positions — as a vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, and a select committee chair.
He also voluntarily relinquished the Tory whip, meaning he will sit as an independent in parliament.
