Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd has blasted critics of a video promoting Universal Credit after it was suggested the clip’s star is an actor.
Rudd described claims that Charlie Watson, who championed the government’s flagship benefits programme in a video shared on Twitter, was not a genuine claimant as “conspiracy theories”.
“Cynically exploiting people’s pasts doesn’t help,” she wrote in a tweet.
Watson is seen in the 90-second clip describing Universal Credit’s positive impact. “Because of Universal Credit... I was able to pursue a career in personal training,” he said in the clip.
But claims have emerged suggesting Watson’s apparent work as an actor threw the video’s legitimacy into doubt.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) vehemently denied the allegation, first highlighted by welfare blogger Alex Tiffin, that Watson read from a script. The department insisted he was not paid for his appearance in the video promotion.
A spokesperson said Watson was a legitimate former claimant who had a positive experience while enrolled on the welfare system.
The department told HuffPost UK that Watson was primarily a fitness trainer based in Salford, Greater Manchester, and had signed onto Universal Credit during a bad patch.
It came after campaigners unearthed an Instagram account apparently linked to Watson which carried boasts of his past work as an actor.
The account included images which appeared to show Watson beside cameras, a green-screen backdrop, and outside the Los Angeles Film School.
One post from April 2018 that showed men dressed in military uniforms was captioned: “Amazing night filming for Sky Atlantic!”
Another post from the same time carried a caption that promoted upcoming Sky One drama Curfew, which lists Game Of Thrones star Sean Bean amongst its cast.
A further post from 2013 appears to show Watson in front of a studio camera and includes the hashtags: ”#acting, #presenting and #camera #lights #action”.
A DWP spokesperson said in a statement: “Everything portrayed in the video is true, and the people speaking are not paid to do so.
“Charlie is a real Universal Credit claimant who has now moved into work and his work coach, shown in the video, still works at the jobcentre.
“Charlie was asked to speak about his Universal Credit experience – his responses were not scripted.
“I do not know Charlie’s work history prior to his joining Universal Credit.”
Universal Credit has been plagued by problems, including a now-scrapped six week stall in payments, and a reported surge in the use of loan sharks and food banks.
HuffPost UK has contacted Watson via the DWP for further comment.
This article has been updated throughout.