England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves and chief executive Tom Harrison will be quizzed by a panel of backbench MPs about how they plan to build on the success of the Cricket World Cup in Westminster on Oct 23. Chaired by Damian Collins, the digital, culture, media and sport committee has built a […]
Over the last four years, Hythe Town Council’s dementia awareness forum has done great work to raise the profile in the local community of the needs of people living with dementia, as well as their carers. Last Friday I was invited by Dudley Shipton and Ann Mayne who lead the forum to a special event […]
Cambridge Analytica did work for Leave.EU on the EU referendum, according to emails published by a House of Commons committee, even though the company never received payment for it. Brittany Kaiser, the former director of business development at the shuttered political consultancy, supplied the emails to the digital, culture, media and sport committee. She argued that […]
If Damian Collins was ever connected to Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook, it is safe to say he has been unfriended. The MP for Folkestone and Hythe since 2010, who chairs the House of Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, concluded an 18-month investigation into disinformation and "fake news" with the publication of a damning […]
Today I attended the special Conservative Party meeting held at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster to hear the result of the leadership election. Boris Johnson’s very strong showing, with over 66% of the votes cast by members of the party, gives him a clear mandate to lead and tackle the challenges that […]
An influential British parliamentary committee wants to probe Facebook’s controversial new cryptocurrency over fears that the social media giant’s move into the financial sector will grant it too much power. Damian Collins, chair of the House of Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, told Financial News he is concerned about the launch of Libra, and […]
‘What is the city but the people?’ we are asked by Sicinius, an elected tribune of Rome in Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus. This same sentiment was brought to life in a street performance by the people of Manchester, to open their city’s 2017 International Festival. Shakespeare provides a common cultural reference point whose influence stretches far […]
Prepare your best * unsurprised face *: Facebook is being accused of contradicting itself in separate testimonies made on both sides of the Atlantic. The chair of a U.K. parliamentary committee that spent the lion’s share of last year investigating online disinformation, going on to grill multiple Facebook execs as part of an enquiry that coincided with […]
On Thursday last week I attended a specially organised meeting in Dover, where Boris Johnson addressed hundreds of Conservative Party members from across East Kent about his priorities for government, should he be chosen next Wednesday to be our new Prime Minister. The event was hosted by the Dover MP Charlie Elphicke and also supported […]
Placing men dressed as British soldiers in Belfast to commemorate World War One carried "huge risks" that were worth taking. That was the finding of a Westminster committee report looking into lessons from centenary events. The memorial project called 'we're here because we're here' was found to be ultimately "hugely successful". The report was published by the […]