Wikipedia

Westminster Digital

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]

Westminster Digital
Founded2017 (2017)
FounderCraig Dillon Edit this on Wikidata
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Websitewww.westminsterdigital.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

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] Concurrent with this, former Westminster Digital employee Jonah Wilder founded a new video production company with the same name.[10]

History edit

Craig Dillon, a former YouTuber[11] and Sky News digital producer,[9][5] who studied TV production at the University of Westminster,[12] 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)[13] of government funds for the creation of Facebook videos and other social media content for MPs was controversial.[14][15] 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,[13] critics have called them a waste of taxpayers' money.[14][15] Although no complete public list of MPs who have claimed for services from Westminster Digital exists,[13] 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[16] in July 2022. This followed accusations of astroturfing[16] and a viral appearance by CEO Craig Dillon (under the pseudonym Thomas Corbett-Dillon) on Tucker Carlson Tonight,[17][18] which was described as a “distraction”.[16] 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[19] and Westminster Digital in February 2024.[10] At the same time, the original Westminster Digital, still under the majority control of Craig Dillon, was renamed WD International Holdings.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Westminster Digital Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  11. ^ Sherwin, Adam (11 November 2014). "YouTube vlogger Craig Dillon pursues defamation action after rape allegation". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ a b c 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.
  14. ^ a b 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.
  15. ^ a b Thompson, George (28 September 2023). "Brandon Lewis criticised for spending on marketing agencies". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  16. ^ a b c Grylls, George; Smyth, Chris (20 July 2022). "Fox News pundit has fought digital war for Penny Mordaunt". The Times. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  17. ^ Thompson, Sophie (12 July 2022). "Boris Johnson's former advisor says he was elected to be 'British Trump'". indy100. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "Westminster Digital Holdings Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 24 March 2024.

External links edit

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