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Westminster Digital
Founded2017 (2017)
FounderCraig Dillon Edit this on Wikidata
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]

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

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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

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  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.
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