‘MORTIFIED’

Conservative British Lawmaker Admits He Got Honeytrapped on Grindr

William Wragg admitted he’d handed his colleagues’ personal phone numbers over to a man he met online over fear of blackmail.

A British politician in the Conservative Party admitted to The Times of London that he’d been caught up in a so-called “honeytrap” on Grindr, handing the personal phone numbers of his colleagues over to a man he met on the app over fear of blackmail. The newspaper reported on Thursday that it had approached Wragg, 36, after speaking to victims who believed he was involved. The colleagues whose numbers he furnished reportedly included several other members of Parliament, their staffers, and a political journalist. They were then sent “unsolicited flirtatious messages,” according to The Times, which reported that at least two of the MPs responded with explicit photos of themselves. Wragg explained to the newspaper that he’d been “scared” his Grindr match knew “compromising things” about him. “I’ve hurt people by being weak,” he said. “I was scared. I’m mortified. I’m so sorry that my weakness has caused other people hurt.” The sexting scandal is now the subject of an investigation by Leicestershire police, according to The Times. Wragg, a senior lawmaker who represents a swath of Greater Manchester, publicly came out as gay in 2015. He announced in late 2022 that he would not run in the next general election.