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Oliver Steadman is charged with blackmailing then-senior MP William Wragg
Dan HaygarthMonday 01 December 2025 12:39 GMT
Oliver Steadman at his previous Magistrates’ court appearance (PA)
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A former Labour councillor accused of blackmailing a Conservative MP in a Westminster “honeytrap” scandal has appeared in court.
Oliver Steadman is charged with blackmailing then-senior MP William Wragg for the contact telephone numbers of up to 12 individuals.
He has also been charged with of improper use of a public electronic communications network in relation to the same victim.
He faces four further improper use of a public electronic communications network charges, namely sending images of indecent character, in relation to four other victims.
The charges span from 8 October 2023 to 31 March 2024.
Steadman appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Monday for a plea and trial preparation hearing. He was not asked to enter a plea and spoke only to confirm his name.
He will next appear at the court in February.
Mr Wragg resigned the Conservative party whip in April 2024 after he admitted giving politicians’ phone numbers to a suspected scammer he met on a dating app.
In September, head of the CPS’s special crime division Malcolm McHaffie 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.”