Tory MP Luke Evans says he was victim of ‘cyber flashing and malicious communications’

Published

2 years ago

April 5, 2024

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A Conservative MP has said he was targeted in the parliamentary honeytrap sexting scam and was the politician that first alerted police and Commons authorities.

Dr Luke Evans, the MP for Bosworth, in Leicestershire, said he was approached in March by two different numbers on WhatsApp “who purported to know me”.

In a video message on Facebook, he said was the victim of cyber flashing and malicious communications “and blew the whistle by reporting it to the police and the parliamentary authorities as soon as this happened”.

Mr Evans said: “The first set of messages I got was on a day I was with my wife and I got a one-time open photo on WhatsApp of an explicit image of a naked lady. As soon as I got these the next day I reported it to the police, the authorities and the chief whip.

“Ten days later I got another set of messages, this time however, I was sat with my team in the constituency office, so we were able to record the conversation and catch photos and videos of the messages coming through including another explicit female image.”

Mr Evans said he “wanted it to be private” due to the ongoing police investigation, but decided to come forward due to the media attention surrounding the sexting scam.

He added: “I’m just pleased I blew the whistle, reported it to the authorities and it’s now being looked into.”

Leicestershire Police confirmed on Thursday it was investigating a report of malicious communications after a number of unsolicited messages were sent to a Leicestershire MP last month.

Shortly after Mr Evans’s statement, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it was also investigating unsolicited explicit images and messages sent to MPs.

A statement from the force said: “Officers from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command are carrying out an investigation following reports that a number of unsolicited messages were sent to MPs over recent months.

“We are working closely with other forces and are in contact with colleagues in Parliamentary Security, who are providing support and advice around anyone affected.”

It follows reports this week that a serving minister, some MPs, party staffers and political journalists were among those who received unsolicited messages from two unknown WhatsApp users.

Last night, Tory MP William Wragg admitted to The Times that he shared the personal phone numbers of some of his colleagues to a man he met on gay dating app Grindr.

Mr Wragg apologised for the “hurt” he caused and said he was “manipulated” by the person after he sent intimate pictures of himself.

“They had compromising things on me. They wouldn’t leave me alone. They would ask for people,” he told the newspaper.

“I gave them some numbers, not all of them. I told him to stop. He’s manipulated me and now I’ve hurt other people.”

Sky News understands Mr Wragg will not lose the party whip over the matter, meaning he can remain in the Conservative parliamentary party.

Many MPs have been sympathetic to Mr Wragg’s situation, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt praising his “courageous and fulsome” apology.

The scam has been described as “spear phishing”, a type of cyber attack that targets specific groups in order to steal personal or sensitive information.

Security experts have speculated that a hostile state could be behind the scam.

Richard Dearlove, a former chief of MI6, told Sky News: “Any MP is massively of interest to a hostile foreign intelligence service.

“Not necessarily for the collection of secrets, but for providing insights into the behavioural vulnerabilities of colleagues.”

Politics

A peace deal isn’t a sure thing, Zelenskyy’s UK visit needs more than a warm welcome

Published

5 hours ago

December 8, 2025

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A peace deal isn't a sure thing, Zelenskyy's UK visit needs more than a warm welcome

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Downing Street once again, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be keen to make this meeting more than just a photo op.

On Monday the prime minister will welcome not only the Ukrainian president, but also E3 allies France and Germany to discuss the state of the war in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join Sir Keir in showing solidarity and support for Ukraine and its leader, but it’s the update on the peace negotiations that will be the main focus of the meet up.

The four leaders are said to be set to not only discuss those talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia, but also to talk about next steps if a deal were to be reached and what that might look like.

Ahead of the discussions, Sir Keir spoke with the Dutch leader Dick Schoof where both leaders agreed Ukraine’s defence still needs international support, and that Ukraine’s security is vital to European security.

But while Russia’s war machine shows no signs of abating, a warm welcome and kind words won’t be enough to satisfy the embattled Ukrainian president at a time when Russian drone and missile attacks continue to bombard Kyiv.

What is the latest in negotiations?

Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed “next steps” with US President Donald Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.

“The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “The conversation was constructive, although not easy.”

But on Sunday evening, ahead of an event at the Kennedy Center, President Trump said he was “disappointed” with Mr Zelenskyy, as was asked about the next steps in Russia-Ukraine talks following negotiations.

He said: “We’ve been speaking to President Putin and we’ve been speaking to Ukrainian leaders, including Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy.

“And I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago.

“His people love it. But he hasn’t – Russia’s fine with it. Russia’s you know, Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it. But Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it. His people love it but he hasn’t read it.”

On Saturday, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy, had told the Reagan National Defence Forum that efforts to resolve the conflict were in “the last 10 metres”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised new US security strategy over the weekend, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to “further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement”.

Politics

Coinbase mounts a cautious comeback in India, two years after exit

Published

6 hours ago

December 8, 2025

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Coinbase mounts a cautious comeback in India, two years after exit

Major US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is returning to India after a two-year absence from the market.

Coinbase has resumed app registrations in India as it prepares to roll out local fiat on-ramps in 2026, Coinbase APAC director John O’Loghlen announced at India Blockchain Week (IBW), according to a Sunday report by TechCrunch.

Coinbase’s return to India comes more than two years after it ceased local services in September 2023, following a troubled debut of its local exchange launched in 2022.

“We had millions of customers in India, historically, and we took a very clear stance to off-board those customers entirely from overseas entities, where they were domiciled and regulated. Because we wanted to kind of burn the boats, have a clean slate here,” O’Loghlen said.

Crypto-to-crypto trades available immediately

As Coinbase resumes customer onboarding in India, users can immediately execute crypto-to-crypto trades, according to the report by TechCrunch.

The exchange initially began onboarding users through an early-access program in October, around the time it hired Karan Malik as its India marketing lead.

Coinbase, India, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Policy — *Source: Coinbase India marketing lead Karan Malik*

Malik had previously overseen marketing for last year’s IBW event, where Coinbase served as a platinum sponsor this year.

“Last year, I was leading the charge and building the marketing and brand playbook for IBW. This year, I’m bringing Coinbase to the party,” the exec said.

Coinbase ramps up push in India

Coinbase has been actively working to rebuild its relationship with the Indian government. In early December, Coinbase’s international policy adviser Katie Mitch represented the exchange before India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

“We are optimistic on the potential for forward-looking VDA regulation in India,” she said in an X post last Thursday.

In another development last week, Priyank Kharge, IT minister for Karnataka, signed a memorandum of understanding with Coinbase India to deepen the state’s leadership in blockchain innovation and cybersecurity.

*Source: Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge*

Through the collaboration, the Karnataka government will collaborate with the exchange on startup incubation on Coinbase-backed Base protocol and speed up real-world applications of blockchain technology, the minister said.

As previously mentioned, Coinbase secured a license with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit in March 2025, positioning the exchange for a potential launch in the country. In August, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal also met with Karnataka’s IT minister Kharge to explore collaboration on developer tools, cybersecurity and blockchain in governance.

Cointelegraph approached Coinbase for comment regarding its relaunch in India, but had not received a response by the time of publication.