Westminster Digital
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (July 2022) |
 | |
| Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Thomas Corbett-Dillon  |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
Westminster Digital was a British video production company[1] founded by Thomas Craig Corbett-Dillon which specialized in producing promotional sixty to ninety-second Facebook clips about local issues for Conservative Members of Parliament.[2][3][4] The company is said to have produced videos for most of the candidates in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election[5][6][7] and for up to 50 MPs during the 2019 United Kingdom general election.[8]
The company was renamed WD International Holdings in February 2024, at which time Companies House reported both its accounts and confirmation statement as being overdue.[1]
History
[edit]Craig Dillon, a former YouTuber[9] and Sky News digital producer,[8][4] who studied TV production at the University of Westminster,[10] founded the company as Westminster Analytics in November 2017.[1] The company was renamed Westminster Digital in May 2019 and Thomas Dixon was appointed managing director in August of that year.[1] In November 2020 Dixon was registered as having ownership of around one-third of the company's shares, with the remainder under ownership of the founder and CEO, Dillon.[1]
Westminster Digital's collection of up to £165,000 (according to one estimate)[11] of government funds for the creation of Facebook videos and other social media content for MPs was controversial.[12][13] Despite the MPs claiming the expenses legally as payments from their office costs budget and justifying them as cheaper than employing a full-time communications staff,[11] critics have called them a waste of taxpayers' money.[12][13] Although no complete public list of MPs who have claimed for services from Westminster Digital exists,[11] their clients are known to have included Michael Gove, Matt Hancock, Sajid Javid, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.[6]
The company's managing director and minority shareholder Thomas Dixon resigned[1] and their work on the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election campaign for Penny Mordaunt was concluded[14] in July 2022. This followed accusations of astroturfing[14] and a viral appearance by CEO Craig Dillon (under the pseudonym Thomas Corbett-Dillon) on Tucker Carlson Tonight,[15][16] which was described as a “distraction”.[14] In September of that year, Dixon's minority share in the company passed to Thomas Borwick's College Green Group.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "WD International Holdings". Companies House. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ↑ Le Conte, Marie (3 October 2019). "Conservative MPs are using a social media agency to land cabinet roles'". GQ. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ↑ Manthorpe, Rowland (7 December 2019). "How candidates are turning to social media to win elections'". Sky News. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- 1 2 Volpicelli, Gian M. (9 December 2019). "Why local Tories are pumping out Brexit-dodging Facebook videos'". Wired. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ↑ D'Urso, Joey (2 June 2019). "Tory leadership: How are Tory hopefuls campaigning online?'". BBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- 1 2 Tominey, Camilla; Bernal, Natasha (27 June 2019). "Meet the millennials helping the Tory leadership hopefuls go viral'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 July 2022.(subscription required)
- ↑ Bridge, Mark (21 June 2019). "Savvy online campaigns gave Johnson and Hunt critical edge in Tory leadership contest'". The Times. Retrieved 16 July 2022.(subscription required)
- 1 2 Dickson, Annabelle (14 June 2019). "POLITICO London Playbook, presented by BP: Remembering Grenfell — The race for second place — Digital Westminster". Politico. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ↑ Sherwin, Adam (11 November 2014). "YouTube vlogger Craig Dillon pursues defamation action after rape allegation". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ↑ Sherwin, Adam (1 May 2015). "Craig Dillon interview: Youtube vlogger on seeking protection for those accused of sex attacks online after being accused himself". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- 1 2 3 Smith, Mikey (4 June 2021). "Tory MPs spend £160k of taxpayers' cash getting Facebook videos made by same firm". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- 1 2 Smith, Mikey (18 March 2021). "Policing minister claimed up to £800 a month on expenses to pay for his podcast". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- 1 2 Thompson, George (28 September 2023). "Brandon Lewis criticised for spending on marketing agencies". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- 1 2 3 Grylls, George; Smyth, Chris (20 July 2022). "Fox News pundit has fought digital war for Penny Mordaunt". The Times. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ↑ Thompson, Sophie (12 July 2022). "Boris Johnson's former advisor says he was elected to be 'British Trump'". indy100. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ↑ Spocchia, Gino (13 July 2022). "Tucker Carlson guest mocked for 'making up a million things' about Boris Johnson's resignation". The Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2024.