Actor Ricky Tomlinson has alleged that Christ’s College alumnus and former Varsity Editor Richard Whiteley was employed by MI5.

Tomlinson, who spent two years in prison for conspiracy to intimidate as one of the so-called “Shrewsbury Two”, claims that the documentary Red Under the Bed, presented jointly by Countdown presenter Whiteley and former politician Woodrow Wyatt, influenced the jury, which retired to consider their verdict the same day that the documentary was broadcast.

An organiser of a national building workers strike in the 1970s, Tomlinson told The Chester Chronicle: “it was so anti-trade union that two of the jury changed their mind and brought a majority verdict in of 10-2 guilty.”

Tomlinson, best known for his role as Jim in the sitcom The Royle Family, suggests that the film was “designed, written, made and paid for by the security services”. He claims to possess documents, marked “confidential”, “strictly confidential”, and “not to be seen” which show that both Whiteley and Wyatt were employed by the intelligence services. Tomlinson alleges that then-prime minister Edward Heath was also "involved" in the episode.

Relations of Whiteley have reacted to the claims with incredulity. “If Richard was a member of the secret service then maybe Ken Dodd was in charge of MI5”, said Whiteley’s partner when he died, former EastEnders actress Kathryn Apanowicz. Former Conservative MP Gyles Brandreth, a regular in Countdown’s dictionary corner, said “if he was a spy, he was the best in the business”.

Whiteley studied at Cambridge between 1962 and 1965, graduating with a third-class degree in English. During his final year, he edited Varsity, producing what he claimed was “the biggest ever issue of a student newspaper”, a total of 68 pages, which sold 6,000 copies.