Nicky Morgan says only 'Westminster bubble' cares about factcheckUK Twitter scandal as row rolls on

Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan has said only the "Westminster bubble" cares about the row over the Conservative Party press Twitter account rebranding as "factcheckUK" during the recent leadership debate.

Ms Morgan, the culture secretary, insisted it was clear the account was Tory-run and said that whilst she was canvassing "not one person" had asked her about it.

Her comments come after fellow minister Dominic Raab said "no one gives a toss" about the "social media cut and thrust" after the move sparked controversy in the run up to the general election.

During the ITV leadership debate, the Conservative Campaign Headquarters press office account, followed by nearly 76,000 users, changed its name from its usual CCHQPress, while switching its display image to a white tick against a purple background.

Ms Morgan, speaking to ITV's Robert Peston, said: "This is a total Westminster bubble story.

"I've been on the doorsteps today, not one person has mentioned this."

Ms Morgan, who previously announced she will not run at the December 12 election, said it was "very clear that it was the Conservatives", while she echoed party chairman James Cleverly's comments that she felt Labour had an account named "The Insider", which also claims to report facts.

Ms Morgan had her claim swiftly rebuked on social media, as her name began to trend on twitter with people insisting they do care.

Dragon's Den mogul Deborah Meaden shared a clip of Ms Morgan and wrote: "I'm out of Westminster and I care. My friends are out of Westminster and they care. My nephews are out of Westminster and they care and so do their friends?"

Twitter condemned the actions of CCHQ for the rebrand, stating that any further such moves could have repercussions.

Independent fact-checking charity Full Fact called on the Conservatives not to repeat the action calling it “an attempt to mislead”.

The Electoral Commission responded to the situation by stating voters are “entitled to transparency and integrity from campaigners in the lead up to an election".