Grant Shapps Wikipedia claims: Tory HQ edits revealed

As Conservative co-chairman Grant Shapps is forced to deny the "false and defamatory" allegation that he edited Wikipedia pages, IBTimes UK turned sleuth to uncover changes to the online encyclopaedia entries made from computers at Conservative Party Headquarters (CCHQ) in London.

However, far from a sinister black-ops 'boys in the basement' expose, what we found appeared to be the bored musings of an intern, a tiny, forgotten cog sitting at a screen at Tory HQ – more muppet than sock puppet.

The most political revealing editing referred to the bastion of High Toryism, the Carlton Club.

A sentence about social class was removed: Members of the Carlton Club are usually upwardly mobile Tories like Stanley Kalms or John Major. More established Tories like the late Lord Hambro tend to be members of upmarket clubs like White's.

Beyond, the miasma sets in. The highlight is altering Jake Gyllenhaal's lover, dumping Reese Witherspoon and replacing her with a bright young thing working at Millbank Tower in Westminster.

Here are some of the other edits.

'Terry F**kwitt' – 2012

Anyone unfamiliar with the comic Viz may not recognise Terry. A regular character in the British magazine, his Wikipedia entry explained how the absurd protagonist's name was never printed in the publication. A knowledgeable person who happened to share the same IP address as CCHQ in 2012, added this gem to Terry's entry: "or else [[Spoonerism|spoonerising]] it to "Wuckfitt".

Jake Gyllenhaal 'dates CCHQ staffer' – 2009

Who wouldn't want to date a movie star? Problem is, they're never on Tinder and are always in the tightly guarded VIP section of the nightclub. But that didn't stop someone at CCHQ in 2009 altering the details of Jake Gyllenhaal's love life.

The Rendition star was in a relationship with Reese Witherspoon at the time. However, the online encyclopaedia briefly claimed Gyllenhaal was courting a female CCHQ staffer. We've decided not to name her in a bid to spare her blushes.

Warthogs 'smell of poo' – 2006

Anyone who's seen The Lion King knows warthogs are all singing, all dancing animals. The family-friendly creatures often team up with meerkats called Timon and serenade lost lion cubs.

But a 2006 edit of Wikipedia made from the CCHQ IP address suggested a low opinion of warthogs. Maybe they didn't see the Disney classic but this user claimed, in the longevity section, that warthogs "also smell of poo".

Titian – 2009

A naughty CCHQ staffer was caught changing the date of death of the 16th-century painter in 2009. Obscure, right? Well, the edit came after then-prime minister Gordon Brown used an anecdote about the Venetian to explain the 2008 financial crisis to attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In short, the former Labour leader declared that he had lived to 90. But David Cameron alleged at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ) that the painter had passed at 86. In the ensuing fuss an overzealous staffer edited Titian's death date to back up his leader's claim.

The Conservative Party has not responded to an IBTimes UK request for comment.