The former Labour councillor Oliver Steadman has been charged in relation to the Westminster “honeytrap” scandal in which a Tory MP was coerced into sharing the numbers of other British MPs.
Steadman, 28, has been charged with one count of blackmail and a communications offence of improper use of a public communications network in relation to one victim, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Steadman, who was involved in Labour’s general election campaign, also faces four counts of improper use of a public electronic communications network in relation to four other victims, for sending alleged unsolicited indecent images.
The scandal rocked Westminster last year after William Wragg admitted to giving the personal phone numbers of fellow MPs to a man on the Grindr dating app. Wragg subsequently resigned the Tory whip, and did not contest his seat at the general election.
The admission came after a number of men working in politics said they had received WhatsApp messages from people calling themselves “Charlie” or “Abi”, who would later ask for explicit images.The CPS said the offences related to five victims.
The messages victims received included specific references to bars at political party conferences or roles on old leadership campaigns, the recipients said. The targets were told they had met the unknown number at an event some time ago, taking advantage of memories that were fuzzy after long nights of drinking and meeting new people.
Steadman, who was a Labour councillor in Islington, was arrested last June on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.
Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime division, said: “We have decided to prosecute Oliver Steadman with blackmail and five communications offences in relation to a total of five victims working within politics and Westminster.
“This follows an investigation by the Metropolitan police Service, which looked into messages that included alleged unsolicited indecent images sent to a number of people within parliamentary political circles between October 2023 and April 2024 using WhatsApp.
“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
“Oliver Steadman will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Monday 3 November 2025 for a first hearing.”
