William Wragg: Jeremy Hunt praises MP's apology over dating app incident

A Tory MP has been praised by the Chancellor for apologizing after he admitted he gave other MPs' personal phone numbers to someone on a dating app.

Jeremy Hunt said William Wragg was “courageous” in telling The Times he was sorry for the “hurt” he had caused.

Mr. Wragg He told the newspaper He was “scared” because that person was “compromising me.”

It comes after reports that at least 12 men in political circles received unsolicited messages, raising security concerns.

The men reportedly included a government minister, political advisers and journalists based in Westminster.

Some were sent nude photos, and two MPs reportedly responded by sending photos of themselves.

Mr Wragg has not been suspended as a Conservative MP, and the party office – responsible for party discipline – is not commenting, citing the ongoing police investigation.

However, some MPs privately expressed surprise that Mr Wragg had not lost the Conservative whip. At least one Tory MP has contacted the whips office to say he should be suspended from the parliamentary party.

The BBC has attempted to contact Mr Wragg, who will step down as an MP at the general election, for comment.

A Leicestershire Police spokesman said the force was “investigating a report of malicious communications” sent to them last month.

The Metropolitan Police said it was liaising with Leicestershire Police and the Parliament's security team, adding: “We will assess any reports made to us accordingly.”

One former MP, who is gay, told the BBC that he had been targeted by someone calling himself “Charlie”, who claimed – incorrectly – to have previously worked for Mr Wragg.

He added: “The last part of that message was 'Westminster misses you…' and that was basically something friends usually say anyway to make me feel better.”

“I'm actually starting to feel bad. I'm embarrassed to think I'm talking to someone who knows who I am and I'm trying really hard not to sound rude.”

“I just became single so I'm hanging out with gays in Westminster,” the next message read.

The former MP explained that he was in a relationship, but other flirtatious messages followed. After “Charlie” sent an explicit photo, the former MP blocked him.

BBC News also saw similar messages sent from the same number to a political journalist.

The BBC also spoke to a man who works for an MP, who received a message “out of the blue” last fall from someone calling himself “Abby” with a female profile picture.

The employee said they claimed to know him from work and mentioned an event he attended.

But he became suspicious when he asked about them, and they responded with “clearly false” information.

He said he ignored them, but they continued to message him. He told the BBC that he learned five or six months later that another person had received messages from a person with the same number and a similar photo.

One of the MP's staff said he would be “very surprised” if Mr Wragg got his number, as he did not remember ever meeting him.

Speaking to reporters earlier, Mr Hunt said reports of the spam were a “major cause for concern” but Mr Wragg had “made a courageous and full apology”.

He added that the reports should be a “lesson” to both MPs and members of the public that they need to be careful about cyber security.

It is unclear who is behind the spam. Some representatives expressed concerns about the possible involvement of a foreign power, such as China and Russia.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, wrote to MPs telling them it would be “unwise” to speculate, and promised to keep them “keep informed of developments”.

Mr Wragg, who is vice-chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, told The Times he had sent intimate photos of himself to a man he met on the gay dating app Grindr.

The 36-year-old, who has been MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester since 2015, added: “They had compromising things on me. They wouldn't leave me alone.”

“They were asking about people. I gave them some numbers, not all of them. I told him to stop. He manipulated me and now I've hurt other people.”

“I spoke to a guy on an app and we exchanged pictures. We were supposed to meet for drinks, but then we didn't. Then he started asking about a number of people. I was worried because he had things on me. He gave me a WhatsApp number and it's not working now.

“I hurt people because of my weakness. I was afraid. I feel afraid. I'm so sorry that my weakness hurt others.”

Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker said it would be “madness” for Mr Wragg, a friend of his, to resign as an MP.

He told BBC Radio 4's PM program that Mr Wragg had been “subjected to a sting operation by a very intelligent and manipulative operator”.

He added: “I think a lot of people might think what Will did was misguided, even stupid, but I also think there's a lot of sympathy there.

“I'm not excusing what Will did, but I think he's a victim in this along with everyone else.”

Labour's shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the incident was “incredibly worrying” and that police investigations “must run its course”.

She declined to offer an opinion on whether Mr Wragg, who also chairs the Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee, should resign, adding that was “a question for the Conservatives”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey did not question whether Mr Wragg should be suspended, adding that was a question for the Conservatives.

He added that he did not believe any of his party's MPs had been involved in the apparent trolling incidents.

A spokesman for the House of Commons said it takes security “very seriously” and provides MPs and staff with “tailored advice” to make them aware of online risks.

They added: “We encourage anyone affected and with concerns to contact the Parliamentary Security Department.”