Westminster Digital

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Westminster Digital
Founded2017 (2017)
FounderCraig Dillon  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
HeadquartersLondon, UK

Westminster Digital was a British video production company [1] founded by Craig Dillon in 2017 [2] which specialized in producing promotional sixty to ninety-second Facebook clips about local issues for Conservative Members of Parliament. [3] [4] [5] The company is said to have produced videos for most of the candidates in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election [6] [7] [8] and for up to 50 MPs during the 2019 United Kingdom general election. [9]

Contents

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

Craig Dillon, a former YouTuber [10] and Sky News digital producer, [9] [5] who studied TV production at the University of Westminster, [11] 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) [12] of government funds for the creation of Facebook videos and other social media content for MPs was controversial. [13] [14] 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, [12] critics have called them a waste of taxpayers' money. [13] [14] Although no complete public list of MPs who have claimed for services from Westminster Digital exists, [12] their clients are known to have included Michael Gove, Matt Hancock, Sajid Javid, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson. [7]

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 [15] in July 2022. This followed accusations of astroturfing [15] and a viral appearance by CEO Craig Dillon (under the pseudonym Thomas Corbett-Dillon) on Tucker Carlson Tonight, [16] [17] which was described as a “distraction”. [15] In September of that year, Dixon's minority share in the company passed to Thomas Borwick's College Green Group. [1]

Former Westminster Digital employee Jonah Wilder founded new companies Westminster Digital Holdings in March 2023 [18] and Westminster Digital in February 2024. [19] At the same time, the original Westminster Digital, still under the majority control of Craig Dillon, was renamed WD International Holdings. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "WD International Holdings". Companies House . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. ↑ "Craig Thomas Dillon". Companies House . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  3. ↑ Le Conte, Marie (3 October 2019). "Conservative MPs are using a social media agency to land cabinet roles'". GQ . Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  4. ↑ Manthorpe, Rowland (7 December 2019). "How candidates are turning to social media to win elections'". Sky News . Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 Volpicelli, Gian M. (9 December 2019). "Why local Tories are pumping out Brexit-dodging Facebook videos'". Wired . Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  6. ↑ D'Urso, Joey (2 June 2019). "Tory leadership: How are Tory hopefuls campaigning online?'". BBC News . Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  7. 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)
  8. ↑ 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)
  9. 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.
  10. ↑ Sherwin, Adam (11 November 2014). "YouTube vlogger Craig Dillon pursues defamation action after rape allegation". The Independent . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 1 2 Thompson, George (28 September 2023). "Brandon Lewis criticised for spending on marketing agencies". Eastern Daily Press . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  15. 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.
  16. ↑ Thompson, Sophie (12 July 2022). "Boris Johnson's former advisor says he was elected to be 'British Trump'". indy100 . Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ "Westminster Digital Holdings Limited". Companies House . Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  19. ↑ "Westminster Digital Limited". Companies House . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
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