Former Labour councillor Oliver Steadman has entered a not guilty plea to blackmail charges at Southwark Crown Court, in a case linked to an alleged 'honeytrap' scheme targeting figures in Westminster politics.
Steadman, 29, was arrested in June 2024 and charged with blackmailing then-Conservative MP William Wragg. The charge alleges he sought to obtain the telephone numbers of up to 12 individuals through coercion.
Wragg resigned from Parliament after admitting he had shared colleagues' personal contact details with someone he met on a dating app.
Steadman will remain on unconditional bail until his trial, which is scheduled for 4 October 2027. A pre-trial hearing is set for 12 October 2026.
He did not enter pleas to additional charges of sending menacing messages to Wragg and distributing indecent images to others, including Conservative MP Luke Evans and former Conservative MPs Ben Everitt and Ross Thompson.
Following his arrest in June 2024, Steadman was suspended from the Labour Party and resigned a month later from his position as a councillor in Islington, north London.