Shapps sent to international development

David Cameron has demoted Conservative co-chairman Grant Shapps from the cabinet after he was the subject of a series of embarrassing stories in the run-up to the general election.

Mr Shapps has been relegated to the lesser role of minister of state at the Department for International Development, in spite of his role in helping to deliver the first Tory majority in the Commons for 23 years.

There was a wait of several hours before Downing Street announced Mr Shapps's new role, which the former Tory chairman said was down to his wish to discuss the move with his wife. "You're out of town a lot," he told the Financial Times.

He acknowledged that recent negative publicity had contributed to the move, but his supporters believe he will come back to a more senior role after serving some time out of the media spotlight.

Mr Shapps said: "I was in the post [as party chairman] for two years and eight months and it came to the right place in the end because we won the election.

"This is a chance to do something totally different and step back from the Westminster bubble - and maybe do something good in the meantime."

Mr Shapps has dismissed as "tosh" recent suggestions that he altered the Wikipedia entries for himself and made changes to the entries of supposed Conservative rivals.

The Conservative party leadership rallied behind Grant Shapps in March after the party chairman was forced to admit he had pursued personal business interests after becoming an MP in 2005.

The prime minister's spokesman insisted then that David Cameron had "full confidence" in his chairman after it emerged that Mr Shapps had continued working for his marketing business a year after becoming an MP, having previously denied having a second job.

Mr Shapps admitted at the time he had "screwed up" the dates when he told LBC radio three weeks ago he did not have a second job once he became an MP. Party figures insisted the chairman had "made a mistake" rather than lied about his affairs.

Mr Shapps attended the cabinet as Tory co-chairman and as minister without portfolio at the Cabinet Office.

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