A former Labour councillor has been charged with blackmail and communications offences over explicit photos.
The scandal, known as the Westminster "honeytrap", relates to alleged unwarranted demands for the phone numbers of up to 12 individuals.
Oliver Steadman, 28, was charged with one count of blackmail and five counts of improper use of a public electronic communications network.
The victims, who included MPs, revealed they had received unsolicited, flirtatious WhatsApp messages from people calling themselves "Charlie" or "Abi".
Oliver Steadman is a former Labour councillor
|ISLINGTON COUNCIL
Explicit images were exchanged by some of the victims and the accused.
Those affected continue to receive support and advice from the police.
The phone numbers of five victims in Westminster politics, including MPs, the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard, were shared by the then-Conservative MP William Wragg, who resigned the party whip.
He had allegedly met Mr Steadman on a dating app.
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MP William Wragg resigned the party whip following the leaks
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An investigation was launched by the Met’s Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team.
Mr Steadman was arrested on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, on suspicion of harassment and committing offences under the Online Safety Act.
After the party was notified of his arrest, Mr Steadman was suspended as a Labour member.
The following month, he resigned as a councillor in Islington, north London.
The phone numbers of five victims in Westminster politics, including MPs, the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard, were shared
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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."
Mr Steadman, who is currently on bail, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on November 3.