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 graphic AI-generated images of Dorries and several other high-profile women were published online before the arrest.
Dorries — a former culture secretary now serving as a senior figure in Nigel Farage’s Reform UK — said she learned of the videos from Thames Valley Police, which is also investigating similar deepfake images of three other Westminster politicians and a number of celebrities circulating on social media.
The arrest
Thames Valley Police said a 36-year-old man from Reading was arrested Dec. 4, 2025, “on suspicion of distribution with intent to cause alarm, distress and humiliation, in connection with the investigation.” He was interviewed by detectives and later released under investigation while the inquiry continues; he has not been charged, and the force has said its inquiries remain ongoing.
Dorries described learning of the videos: “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 said she was told the man’s devices, seized after his arrest, contained thousands of videos and images, and that the fake videos had already circulated widely online. “Due to the technology used, it’s almost impossible to tell what is real and what isn’t,” she said. “The thought that members of my family, friends and colleagues could have seen them was mortifying.”
The law being applied
The investigation centers on section 66B(2) and (10) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which concerns sharing an intimate image or film of a person without consent with intent to cause alarm, distress or humiliation. The provision was expanded under the Online Safety Act to explicitly cover images generated or manipulated with artificial intelligence, including deepfakes — legislation Dorries herself introduced while serving in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet in 2021. Being arrested and questioned does not amount to a finding of guilt, and the man has not been charged.
Part of a wider pattern
The case comes amid broader 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 sexualized images and video of her; her lawyers argue the company should be held accountable for design and training choices that “enabled the abuse.” Earlier in 2026, new laws banned AI tools capable of digitally removing clothing from photographs to create deepfake nude images, following the wider availability of so-called “nudification” apps, and further changes to the Crime and Policing Bill are set to broaden that ban to cover any AI tool with that capability. X has said it will 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: Daily Mail.
