More questions raised on Cabinet Office and Wikipedia

The Civil Service is "adapting to the use of new media and new technology," a Cabinet Office spokesperson said as it faces fresh questions over dubious Wikipedia edits from the secure Government network.

"But the Civil Service Code applies at all times, and we take breaches very seriously", they continued.

"We have already announced an investigation to examine offensive edits to Wikipedia, and will look at other concerns raised."

The Cabinet Office faces fresh questions about dubious Wikipedia edits carried out from the secure Government computer network, after it was found their systems were used to change an article on the Hillsborough disaster.

An examination of Wikipedia changes made from an IP address allocated to the Government network shows an individual wrote about "killing or enslaving" black people on the entry for Howick Falls in South Africa, and also suggests that black people are uncivilised and believe "hearsay and myth".

The revisions were made in November 2006 but were quickly deleted by a moderator.

In another example, the IT system was used in December 2006 to edit the entry for Manchester to read: "Heralded as the 'w*****s capital of the North'". This change was also reversed by the site's editors.

Read: Government seeks culprits behind 'sickening' Wiki edits

Hillsborough campaigner Andy Burnham has vowed to hold to account the "rogue civil servant" responsible for using government computers to post "sickening" comments about the football disaster.

The Liverpool-born MP and relatives' groups will monitor an investigation into who was behind inflammatory and offensive changes about the 1989 tragedy on the website Wikipedia.

The Liverpool Echo revealed that computers on a secure government network were used to make the amendments.

Read: Hillsborough Wikipedia investigation 'challenging'

The newspaper said revisions to the online encyclopaedia began five years ago on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, and again in 2012.

It may not be possible to identify who used government computers to post "sickening" comments about the Hillsborough disaster, the Cabinet Office has warned.

Officials said the passage of time and number of people using the Whitehall intranet made finding those who edited Wikipedia "challenging".

Relatives' groups and Liverpool-born MP Andy Burnham, a long-term campaigner on the issue, are being drafted in to monitor the investigation, a spokeswoman said. The Liverpool Echo reported revisions to the Wikipedia began five years ago on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, and again in 2012.

The Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: "The amendments made to Wikipedia are sickening. The behaviour is in complete contravention of the Civil Service Code. It is entirely unacceptable."

Read: Govt to investigate 'sickening' Hillsborough Wikipedia edits

An investigation is underway at Westminster into what the government describes as 'sickening' insults over the Hillsborough disaster.

A series of offensive remarks were added to Wikipedia - among them the words 'Blame Liverpool Fans.'

Families of the dead reacted with disgust, saying it further undermined their confidence in the establishment. The Cabinet Office is promising to update Parliament on its findings.

ITV News reporter Richard Pallot reports:

The Cabinet Office said it believes "one or two" individuals are behind "sickening" amendments made to the Wikipedia page on the Hillsborough disaster from Government computers, but said it could be "challenging" to identify the culprits.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said:

The edits to the Hillsborough disaster page on Wikipedia were made by IP addresses 195.92.40.49 and 62.25.106.209, both of which belong to government networks.

The first of two IP addresses used in making offensive edits to the Hillsborough disaster page on Wikipedia, 62.25.106.209, can be traced to gateway-101.energis.gsi.gov.uk.

The second of the two IP addresses used to make offensive changes to the page, 195.92.40.49, can be traced to gateway-202.energis.gsi.gov.uk.

Edits made to the Hillsborough disaster page on Wikipedia have been described as an "absolute insult to victims and their families".

Margaret Aspinall, mother of one of the victims said: "It's an absolute insult to the families who are fighting for where we are today and it has to be investigated".

Sheila Coleman from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign added that the distress was compounded by the timing of the revelations.

"That this happens now when the families are immersed in the inquest procedure goes to the heart of why should they trust the establishment," she said.

According to Barry Collins, a freelance technology journalist, an identifier such as the computer's MAC (Media Access Control) address would be required to find out exactly which PC the Wikipedia edits came from.

A MAC address is a unique code found in computer or networking equipment.

The former editor of PC Pro said: