Yet another gay sex scandal for the UK government
Mark Menzies is a UK member of parliament – he’s a member of the governing Tory party, a conservative political party, and represents the constituency of Fylde near Manchester. Menzies has been a member of parliament since 2010.
Following allegations of misappropriation of campaign funds, Menzies has been suspended from the Tory party.
The allegations have been widely reported in the UK media, first published in conservative-leaning newspaper, The Times.
Menzies has denied the allegations, saying that he has always followed funding declaration rules.
According to the account published by The Times, the allegations date back to December 2023 when Menzies phoned his then-campaign manager in the early hours of the morning, saying that he was locked in a flat by “some bad people”, and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.
The campaign manager allegedly paid Menzies the amount of £6,500 from her personal savings and this amount was apparently reimbursed to her from campaign donations.
According to reporting of the allegations, Menzies needed the money after meeting a man from a dating website, reportedly going to the man’s flat, then going with another man to a second address, where he was drinking.
In a statement, Menzies said: “I strongly dispute the allegations put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for declarations. As there is an investigation ongoing, I will not be commenting further.”
A Tory spokesperson said: “The Conservative Party is investigating allegations made regarding a member of parliament. This process is rightfully confidential. The party takes all allegations seriously and will always investigate any matters put to them.”
This is not the first time that Menzies’ private life has hit the headlines. In 2014, he faced allegations that he paid a male escort for sex and drugs. Speaking about those allegations at the time, Menzies said the allegations were “not true”, adding that he needed “a period of stability to rebuild my private life and continue to focus on helping constituents”.
How to spot an online dating scammer
We’re at our most vulnerable when we’re looking to make a connection with other guys – when we’re looking for affection, when we’re looking for sex.
Unfortunately, online dating platforms attract fraudulent activity.
Online dating operators have systems in place to try and protect users as much as possible from fraudulent activity, but nothing is foolproof. You have to keep your wits about you.
How do I tell if an online dating profile is fraudulent?
There’s no hard and fast way to do this – but there are a number of tell-tale signs that you should be alert to.
If you start chatting with someone and they almost immediately ask for your email, don’t give it to them. Same applies if they want to immediately shift the conversation to WhatsApp. Keep the conversation in the dating app until you’re confident you’re dealing with a real person.
If the photo looks like it’s been shot by a professional photographer, it’s probably a fake. If they can’t send you additional photos of themselves, this raises alarm bells.
If they haven’t filled in any of the bio fields, that would make you question what they’re hiding.
If they’ve filled in their bio fields but it doesn’t feel very authentic. That would raise a red flag.
You might come across sex-workers who are using online dating platforms to connect with potential clients. If you’re not interested in that, you can simply respond appropriately or Block them.
If you’re chatting with someone, and they ask you to send them money, don’t. Even if it sounds like they really need it – maybe they’ve got medical bills, or a sick grandfather, or some other really compelling story. Even if you’ve been chatting with them for quite a long time and you feel like you’ve established a rapport with them. If the money is to buy a ticket to come and see you – they won’t show up. Do not send money to strangers on the internet.
Generally, if something feels too good to be true then it probably is. Trust your gut-instincts – if you think you might be chatting with a scammer, put an end to that conversation.
What should I do if I think I’ve been contacted by a fraudulent online dating profile?
Most dating platforms will have a Report function. On Gaydar, when you’re looking at someone’s profile you can report it by clicking on the triangle warning symbol.
It’s a good idea to report anything you think looks fraudulent – this will generally put the suspect profile in front of an employee of the dating platform – they can review it, investigate it, and suspend the account if necessary.
You should also use the Block function to prevent that profile from contacting you in the future. Don’t waste your time or energy on profiles that you think might be fraudulent. Focus on authentic guys that you have a connection with.
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