Former UK defense minister gets detained in pedophile sting

(MENAFN) Ivor Caplin, a former Labour MP and under-secretary for defense, has been arrested following an undercover sting operation by a group of self-described “pedophile hunters” who accused him of attempting to meet with a 15-year-old boy. The confrontation, which occurred at a railway station, was recorded and shared on social media, showing a man resembling Caplin being confronted by members of the Stop Stings vigilante group before being arrested by the police.

The group, which had posed as an underage boy, claimed they had been in contact with Caplin for months via WhatsApp and arranged the meeting after conducting extensive research. Dean Rowland, the leader of Stop Stings, stated that all evidence had been handed over to the authorities and hoped for justice. Caplin denied the accusations, insisting that he had no intention of meeting any children.

Sussex Police confirmed the arrest of a 66-year-old man on January 11, 2025, in connection with the ongoing investigation. Caplin, who served as the MP for Hove from 1997 to 2005 and was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defense under Tony Blair, was suspended from the Labour Party in June 2024 due to serious, undisclosed allegations.

Before his arrest, Caplin had criticized tech billionaire Elon Musk’s comments about UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and MP Jess Phillips, accusing them of failing to address child grooming gangs. Musk responded to news of Caplin’s arrest by calling him “what a creep” on X.

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