Tory Brexiteer MP appears to edit his own Wikipedia page to remove reference to EU grant and unlawful payments
Exclusive: Account named 'Stuart Anderson MP' deleted potentially damning sections from site
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Your support makes all the difference.A new Tory MP appears to have edited his own Wikipedia page to remove references to funding that one of his companies received from the EU and information about illegal dividends that he was paid.
Stuart Anderson, who became the MP for Wolverhampton South West last month, seemingly removed the potentially damning information from the site days after being elected.
The edits were made by a Wikipedia user named "Stuart Anderson MP" on 21 December.
The account was blocked indefinitely by Wikipedia administrators three days later, on 24 December, for the reason that the "username represents a famous person". The website's policy states that accounts will be banned if they "are promotional in nature, or appear to advertise, promote, sell, or gain support or user base of any person, company, market, product, channel, or other good or service".
The edits made to Mr Anderson's Wikipedia page by the user included removing a section on reports that a security company founded by the MP, a supporter of Brexit, had benefited from £500,000 from an EU-backed fund.
According to Private Eye, the company, called eTravelSafety, received the money from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, which benefits from more than £200m of funding from the EU. Mr Anderson, a former soldier, was still acting chief executive of the company when he was elected last month.
The "Stuart Anderson MP" Wikipedia user also removed two references to Mr Anderson having been paid illegal dividends by another of his companies. The firm, called Anubis Associates, collapsed in 2013, owing HMRC £272,000 in tax and £179,300 to other unsecured creditors.
When the company, which trained security guards, was wound up, administrators found that Mr Anderson had been paid more than £54,000 in unlawful dividends in 2011.
According to The Guardian, one of the administrators said at the time: "Forecasts suggested that there would be sufficient profits to allow these to be paid ... this is not the case, therefore these are illegal dividends and should be repaid."
Mr Anderson offered to repay £2,000, which administrators accepted because they believed he faced bankruptcy if he was forced to repay any more.
The now MP was the director and major shareholder of the company at the time, having co-founded it in 2005. The "Stuart Anderson MP" account edited the MP's Wikipedia page to say that he was "one of the founders" of the company. The page had previously said that he was the only founder.
The edits were made during a five-minute window shortly before 7am on 21 December.
Mr Anderson overturned a Labour majority of more than 2,000 to win the Wolverhampton South West seat at the 12 December election.
He was endorsed by Boris Johnson during the election campaign. The prime minister said at the time: “I am so proud that he is standing as the Conservative candidate. We want to help start-ups here and get the economy really moving."
Mr Anderson has been contacted for comment.
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