Former MP William Wragg has described the feeling of “tremendous guilt” that washed over him when he realized he had fallen victim to a sophisticated scam designed to target Westminster politicians.

A police investigation began in April earlier this year after it was suggested that at least 12 men with links to Westminster had received unwanted messages from the aliases ‘Charlie’ and ‘Abi’.

The fake accounts allegedly engaged in a sophisticated scam to trick MPs and other people in political circles into sending explicit photos and other private or sensitive information.

Unlike others who had been contacted by the catfish accounts, 36-year-old now ex-MP William Wragg contacted “Charlie” himself after seeing the profile on gay dating app Grindr.

He thought the account was a real person before exchanging explicit photographs with the catfish.

In the days that followed, Wragg claimed he felt threatened and pressured into sharing phone numbers and personal information of his Westminster colleagues about the mystery account.

He feared the catfish would leak his intimate photos in retaliation if he didn’t comply.

Speaking to the BBC in his first broadcast interview about his involvement, Wragg said he saw the first news articles about the Westminster honey trap on the train.

The former Conservative party whip told the broadcaster: “My stomach just dropped.

“When I found out some of the things that had gone on, I just felt enormous guilt, enormous remorse.”

After former MP Hazel Grove handed over the personal information, Catfish told Wragg to vouch for his identity with his next potential victims, and Catfish told his new targets that he was a former researcher for Mr Wragg.

Mr Wragg agreed, which is what he feels “most remorseful” because it was “fraudulent”.

Not long after he was allegedly blackmailed, Wragg began having panic attacks, with bouts of screaming, crying and swearing that shocked his sleeping flatmates.

He told the BBC that while his housemates were concerned, he was unable to explain to them what was going on.

Then, when the story broke, the humiliation and shame became too much for him to handle.

He told of photographers and the press camped out outside his parents’ house, where he was driving when suicidal thoughts began to set in.

Shortly after receiving appropriate medical attention, he returned to Westminster to resign as Conservative whip and from his posts on two parliamentary committees.

He had already announced that he would not run in the next parliamentary election.

Asked by BBC reporter Joe Pike how he felt, seven months after the scandal that ended his career in politics, Wragg said: “I have no bitterness or anger left in me because I felt so miserable and horrible about myself.”

He added: “It is a source of great shame that my time in Parliament ended in this way.”

On his last day as an MP, he said he had a consultation with a psychologist, which he thought was a fitting end to his nine-year tenure in the Commons.

He then added a grim truth about the pressures of life within the walls of Westminster: “They have two mental health beds available at a time for Members of Parliament,” he said.

“It’s surprising how often they’re busy.”

In June, a Labor Party member in his mid-20s was arrested in Islington, north London, on suspicion of harassment and offenses under the Online Safety Act.

He has since been released on bail.