Andy Wigmore
Andy Wigmore | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 June 1966 Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England |
| Citizenship | Belize, United Kingdom |
| Education | Sacred Heart College, Droitwich |
| Title | Honourable, Senior Justice of the Peace of Belize |
| Term | 2012–present |
| Political party | Brexit Party |
| Spouse | Cath Wigmore |
| Children | 2 |
Andrew Bruce Wigmore is a British political activist, former diplomat and trap shooter. He is known for his work on the Leave.EU campaign during the UK's 2016 referendum on membership of the European Union, and is a prominent associate of Arron Banks and Nigel Farage.[1] He represented Belize in trap shooting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Life
Andrew Wigmore was born on 1 June 1966 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.[2] Wigmore is half-Belizean,[3] and holds dual citizenship of Belize and the United Kingdom.[4] He attended the Sacred Heart College in Droitwich in Worcestershire.
He has worked in communications mainly privately until 2016 when he was director of communications for Arron Banks' Leave.EU campaign.[1][5]
He also held a role as a Trade & Investment Minister Council at the Belize High Commission in London, a diplomatic position bound by the Vienna Convention. Following Wigmore's highly publicised meeting with then President-elect of the United States Donald Trump complaints arose regarding Wigmore forgoing his "duty not to interfere in the internal affairs [of another country]" as an accredited diplomat. Wigmore's role with the Belizean High commission ended on 23 January 2017.[6] In January 2018, Wigmore was stopped by police in the UK for driving without insurance, using illegal diplomatic number plates, and an expired diplomatic ID. Police seized the number plates and documents, but Wigmore was not prosecuted.[7]
From September 2015, Wigmore, along with Arron Banks, had multiple meetings with Russian officials posted at the Russian embassy in London. The first contact was with Russian diplomat and suspected spy Alexander Udod, in order to ask for a meeting with Russia's ambassador to Britain Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko.[8]
Shooting
Wigmore represented Belize at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in trap shooting. He competed in the men's trap event ranking 31st and 36th respectively on the first and second day of qualification. He failed to qualify any further.[2] He also attempted to represent Belize again at the Rio Olympics but failed to qualify.[1]
Personal life
Wigmore is married and has two children.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Five key Brexiteers have paid a visit to the President-Elect in Trump Tower". The Independent. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Andrew Wigmore". 2014 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Londoner's Diary: Sugar coating for Belizeans' own Brexiteer". London Evening Standard. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Meritorious Service Award: Andrew Wigmore" (PDF). Belizean Capital Weekly. 22 September 2013. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2015.
- ^ "Andrew Bruce WIGMORE - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ "Leave crusader loses Belize envoy job after Johnson intervention". The Times. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ Smith, Adam (26 January 2018). "Brexit campaign boss pulled over by police after 'posing as Belize diplomat'". Metro. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ David D. Kirkpatrick; Matthew Rosenberg (29 June 2018). "Russians Offered Business Deals to Brexit's Biggest Backer". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2018.