Former Labour councillor charged with blackmail in Westminster 'honeytrap' scandal
A former Labour councillor has been charged with blackmail and five communications offences in relation to a total of five victims working within politics and Westminster.
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Oliver Steadman, 28, has been charged with one count of blackmail in relation to alleged unwarranted demands for the contact telephone numbers of up to 12 individuals. He has also been charged with a communications offence of improper use of a public electronic communications network, in relation to the same victim.
And he faces four further communications offence charges, in relation to four other victims, relating to the sending of alleged unsolicited indecent images.
Mr Steadman, who resigned as a Councillor in May last year, had previously worked for the mental health charity Mind, and has been a member of Unite the union. He was suspended from the Labour Party last year whilst the investigation takes place.
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Today's charge comes after the so-called Westminster honeytrap scandal, where dozens of men aged between 18 and 40- in and around Westminster received explicit messages from two numbers purporting to be someone called Abi or Charlie.
Charlie was sometimes a man and sometimes a woman.
Those targeted would be contacted with messages suggesting they had met before. After the person began replying they received sexually explicit photos. In some cases those targeted reciprocated.
I have been reporting on this since the beginning and have spoken to many of the men affected.
Some of those involved said being targeted had caused them “anxiety”, “worry” and “embarrassment” . Another said that when they found out Charlie was not a real person, their "heart sank".
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.”