A man has been arrested as part of a police investigation into deepfake pornographic videos depicting former Conservative Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries, according to Thames Valley Police. The force said the arrest came after graphic AI-generated images of Dorries and several other high-profile women were published online.
Dorries, a former culture secretary and now a senior figure in Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, said she was informed of the videos last week by Thames Valley Police, which is also investigating similar deepfake images of three other Westminster female politicians and a number of celebrities circulating on social media.
Thames Valley Police said a 36-year-old man from Reading was arrested on December 4, 2025, “on suspicion of distribution with intent to cause alarm, distress and humiliation, in connection with the investigation.” The force said the man “was interviewed by detectives” and “was later released under investigation while our enquiries are ongoing.”
Dorries described the moment she learned of the videos, saying: “I was stunned and deeply distressed to receive a phone call from a senior police officer to inform me that a man had made deepfake porn videos and I was the subject – along with three other high-profile women in Westminster and a number of TV presenters.”
She added: “I was called after he had been arrested and his devices, which contained thousands of videos and images, had been seized. The fake videos had already been shared widely across social media and the internet. Due to the technology used, it’s almost impossible to tell what is real and what isn’t. The thought that members of my family, friends and colleagues could have seen them was mortifying.”
The investigation is focused on the offence of sharing a photograph or film of a person in an intimate state with intent to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, contrary to section 66B(2) and (10) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. That provision was expanded under the Online Safety Act, legislation Dorries herself introduced while serving in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet in 2021, to explicitly cover AI-generated intimate images.
In general terms, an offence under section 66B(2) and (10) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 concerns the sharing of intimate images or footage of a person without their consent where the purpose is to cause alarm, distress or humiliation to that person. As amended, the law also applies to images created or manipulated using artificial intelligence, including so-called “deepfakes.”
Being arrested and questioned in connection with an offence does not amount to a finding of guilt, and the man arrested has not been charged. Thames Valley Police has said its inquiries remain ongoing.
The case comes amid wider concern over AI tools capable of generating false intimate imagery. Labour MP Jess Asato has separately launched legal action against xAI, the company behind the Grok chatbot, alleging it created fake sexualised images and video of her. Her legal claim alleges that xAI breached data protection law and misused her private information, with her lawyers arguing the company should be held accountable for design and training choices that “enabled the abuse.” Asato has described the product as one “developed without any concern for the social harms it might create.”
Earlier this year, new laws were introduced banning AI tools capable of digitally removing clothing from photographs to create deepfake nude images, following the wider availability of so-called “nudification” apps. Additional changes to the Crime and Policing Bill and further protections under the Online Safety Act are set to broaden the ban to cover any AI tool with that capability. X has also said it would block Grok users from generating undressed images of real people in jurisdictions where doing so is illegal.
Thames Valley Police has confirmed its investigation into the deepfake images is continuing.
Source: Dailymail.com
