The former Welsh Secretary, Mr Ron Davies, agreed to meet a man intent on blackmailing him over sexual advances he made on Clapham Common, according to sources close to the incident. Police yesterday confirmed the report as "pretty much the full story".
The rendezvous was arranged for noon last Tuesday - the day after Mr Davies's night-time walk which led to his resignation.
The would-be blackmailer had threatened to go to newspapers and "expose him to the maximum" after Mr Davies had asked if he could arrange a man for sex, according to information which the police regard as reliable.
Mr Davies initially agreed to pay £1,000 at a meeting the next day on Clapham Common. When Mr Davies failed to turn up for the meeting, the would-be blackmailer rang the Welsh office and discovered that the Secretary of State had resigned. Revealing fresh details of the incident, local sources in Brixton, south London, claim that Mr Davies stopped his car by Clapham Common last Monday evening, and beckoned a man. The man told Mr Davies he would not have sex with him, but could arrange something. The man got in the car and drove with Mr Davies to a Brixton address.
According to sources, the man was looking for a gay man who lived in a block of flats there. He planned to introduce Mr Davies to the second man, and charge the MP commission. Mr Davies and the first man - nicknamed "Boogie" - entered a lift. Two other men got in. The three men then threatened Mr Davies at knifepoint. His cash and wallet were taken before Mr Davies was marched back to his car and driven to a bank, where he was told to use his credit card. Mr Davies told them he could not remember his PIN number and they drove off without him.
The assailants discovered Mr Davies's identity from his papers, according to this source. Later that evening an unknown person rang Mr Davies and told him he would go to the newspapers with the story unless he paid them money. Mr Davies has declined to respond to any of these allegations.
PA adds: A sixth person has been arrested in connection with the alleged robbery of Mr Davies, Scotland Yard said yesterday. A police spokeswoman said a man in his late 20s was arrested at an address in Brixton.
Today's Sun says that Mr Davies had gay sex with two men hours before he was held up at knifepoint.