MP resigns after sending 2000 creepy text messages

UK MP Andrew Griffiths resigned as Minister for Small Business at the weekend after lewd messages that he sent a barmaid were made public.

The married politician, 47, bombarded Imogen Treharne, 28, with more than 2000 explicit text messages over three weeks, pestered her and a female friend for sex and wanted them to call him “Daddy”.

Ms Treharne’s online profile had caught the MP’s eye and he followed her for months. Her online profile boasts she is all “t**ties and teeth” on her Instagram page, The Sun reports.

She has posted hundreds of selfies online, including one of her in just underwear, as she sprawls on a bed.

New dad Mr Griffiths, a former adviser to Prime Minister Theresa May, asked the two women to send him explicit videos and made kinky demands. He also reportedly sent them £700 ($A1250) and offered to rent a flat for them so they could meet up for sex.

Messages sent by Mr Griffiths to Imogen and her friend included, “I’m going to need something filthy to put a smile on my face. I want to see you both naked”, “Take off the bra and panties … you’ve got Daddy in such a frenzy”, “I’m going to bring you to London and do whatever I want to you”, “I’m thinking maybe we need a flat for Daddy’s girls” and “I’m taken by you both. You girls are spectacular.”

On June 17 — Father’s Day in the UK — he asked, “Daddys get treats. Do you think Daddy deserves a treat?” And in a text sent at 4.10pm on June 20 — just 25 minutes after voting against the Brexit bill — he said, “Daddy’s busy running the country.”

He allegedly texted one of the women a selfie from outside Buckingham Palace and wrote, “Daddy met the future king tonight: but thought of you.”

“Daddy” is a term used in bondage relationships. Other messages hinted at an interest in sadomasochism. Griffiths wrote, “Daddy is going to have to put some manners on you. Teach my little sub **** how to behave. I can be an evil ******** when I’m turned on. How rough do you like it? How hard?”

The Sun understands that the shamed MP for Burton and Uttoxeter follows social media profiles belonging to a number of attractive young women.

Last night he and his wife Kate — who has recently had a baby — were not at their £300,000 ($A535,000) constituency home. They were braced for further revelations about his behaviour towards other women.

Ms Treharne questioned why Mr Griffiths was still “clinging on” as an MP yesterday following his resignation from his ministerial post.

She revealed he has not apologised to her for his sexting spree.

“He still just sees us as pieces of meat,” she said. “He’s just saying sorry to the people affecting his future — not the people he’s actually been affecting.”

Ms Treharne said Mr Griffiths targeted her because he “spotted a vulnerability” and “thought I appeared like a dolly bird with no brain online”. She said the MP “didn’t want to speak to me about anything other than sex”.

“I wanted him to be a nice guy, but by the end I felt dirty,” she said. “I felt like I was being used for this wealthy man’s gratification.”

Yesterday her sister, Tassia Mewis, called for the MP to be punished by the Conservative Party. Speaking from the family home in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, she said Mr Griffiths “must be held to account” and “shouldn’t get away with it”.

A friend of the Ms Treharne said, “It’s filthy what he’s done. How did he not expect it to come out?”

The MP’s constituents also expressed disgust at his conduct. Sandra Russell, 47, said, “He’s vile. I’m not surprised at this. He throws his weight around and always says, ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ There’s a lot of people round here that don’t like him.”

A constituent who did not want to be named said, “I think it’s disgusting what he’s done. With a newborn and a wife too.”

Another local, who said he had known Mr Griffiths for more than seven years, said, “He’s killed his career now and has lost the trust from people round here.”

After being caught out, Mr Griffiths issued a statement. “I am deeply ashamed at my behaviour which has caused untold distress to my wife and family, to whom I owe everything, and deep embarrassment to the Prime Minister and the government I am so proud to serve,” he said.

“Following discussions today with the Chief Whip, I have referred myself to the Conservative Party’s code of conduct procedures. I entirely accept that pending this investigation it is right the whip is withdrawn. I do not seek to excuse my behaviour and will be seeking professional help to ensure it never happens again.”