Tom Watson, a Worcester-based recruitment firm owner, has been accused of operating the “Big Time Charlie” X account, which targeted the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, anti-racism activists and business executives involved in hiring minority ethnic workers.
The account, which had almost 50,000 followers, was deactivated soon after Hope Not Hate named Watson and he was approached for comment. Archived records show it originally used his name, while other evidence also links him to the account.
The account had a history of racist comments and appeared to use artificial intelligence to collect information from LinkedIn and other websites for a database called “Traitorbase.” It posted the names and photographs of executives at several businesses and claimed to have donated £2,500 to Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party.
RNLI staff were harassed online as far-right activists targeted them over rescues involving people crossing the English Channel in small boats. One businessperson targeted by the account described the exposure as bizarre and unpleasant, but said it had not apparently caused problems.
Watson divides his time between the UK and the US and founded Futura Energy Group, which describes itself as a specialist recruitment and talent partner for companies operating across artificial intelligence.