A man has been arrested as part of an investigation into 'deepfake' pornographic videos depicting Nadine Dorries, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Police made the arrest after graphic AI images of the former Tory Cabinet minister were published online.

She was told about the fake videos last week by Thames Valley Police – which is also investigating images of three other Westminster female politicians and several celebrities circulating on social media.

Last night Ms Dorries, a former culture secretary who is now a senior member of Nigel Farage's Reform UK, spoke of her 'deep distress' over the videos, which sources described as 'disturbingly realistic'. 

It comes amid growing concern over the ability of AI technology such as Elon Musk's Grok to generate false images, which could be used to damage or blackmail individuals.

Ms Dorries, a Daily Mail columnist, told The MoS: '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.'

Thames Valley Police said yesterday that it was investigating reports of deepfake images of women, which had been published online, adding: 'On December 4, 2025, a 36-year-old man from Reading was arrested on suspicion of distribution with intent to cause alarm, distress and humiliation, in connection with the investigation.

'The man was interviewed by detectives. He was later released under investigation while our enquiries are ongoing.'

The investigation focuses on the offence of 'sharing a photograph or film of a person in intimate state intending to cause alarm, distress or humiliation contrary to section 66B(2) and (10) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003'. 

The Online Safety Act – which was introduced by Ms Dorries when she was in Boris Johnson's Cabinet in 2021 – amended the Sexual Offences Act to include the use of AI-generated intimate images.

It comes after Labour MP Jess Asato started legal action earlier this year against xAI, the platform behind Grok, after the chatbot created fake images of her in a bikini and an AI video which seemed to show her being prepared for a sexual assault. 

Ms Asato's legal claim alleges that xAI breached data protection law and misused her private information by allowing Grok to use her image and create false images, and that the chatbot added explicit material even if not asked.

Lawyers for the Lowestoft MP argue the company behind Grok, which can be used on the Grok website or on X, should be held accountable for the design and training choices that enabled the abuse. 

She described it as 'a product that has been developed without any concern for the social harms it might create'.

Laws were introduced earlier this year to ban any AI tool capable of taking a photograph and removing clothes to create a deepfake nude image. The so-called 'nudification' apps have been easily available for download.

The laws were among changes made by Sir Keir Starmer's Government designed to demonstrate its 'commitment to women' after Labour grandee Peter Mandelson's close links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.

Female MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party had made it clear that they expected more to be done about violence against women and girls. 

Predators have also used AI apps to 'nudify' children using family photographs taken from social media.

Earlier this year X said it would block its users from using Grok to create images of real people in a state of undress in countries where this was illegal.