Lord Hermer has banned his staff from using social media platform X over “racism and misogyny”.The Attorney General has barred his team from using Elon Musk’s platform, claiming his department can “do better”.His office’s official X account was regularly posting until June 12.Asked why his department had stopped using it, Lord Hermer told the Commons Justice Committee: “I made that decision. I can understand why other departments feel they need to be on the pitch engaging with people but that is not where the Attorney General’s Office needs to be.”I think for the work that I can do I can engage with people in serious debate, detailed debate, respectful debate without being on a platform that constantly descends to racism and misogyny. I think my department can do better than that.”His comments may raise the eyebrows of Cabinet colleagues, many of whom use the platform every day.It is also frequently used by Sir Keir Starmer, despite a number of spats with its owner Mr Musk.Asked by committee chairman Andy Slaughter whether he would recommend that his fellow ministers do the same, Lord Hermer said: “Look, as I said, I can see there are very good reasons why some departments and some colleagues will want to be out there challenging things on that platform.”Lord Hermer said Elon Musk’s platform ‘constantly descends to racism and misogyny’ | GETTYAfter the stabbing of Henry Nowak, Sir Keir said the world’s first trillionaire was “trying to whip up division” by criticising Hampshire Police.Mr Musk wrote on X: “Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer.”Legacy mainstream media, same ones who wrote about George Floyd millions of times, are dead silent about Nowak.”In a separate post, the Tesla owner said: “The West has created an utterly evil state religion where an accusation of ‘racism’ s the gravest offence that can be committed, even worse than rape or murder!”
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X owner Elon Musk has been accused by Sir Keir Starmer of ‘trying to whip up division’ | GETTYIn response, Sir Keir said: “We need to also assert who we are as a country, because Musk, again, has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division – that is not who we are in Britain.”Lord Hermer also insisted the Government would pass the Chagos deal to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, despite it being omitted from the King’s Speech.The Government was unable to pass the Bill in the previous Parliament after Donald Trump dropped his support for the deal.The Chagos Islands are home to the joint US-UK military base Diego Garcia, which Iran targeted with two ballistic missiles in March – one of which failed during flight, and the other missile successfully intercepted.Sir Keir Starmer said Britain needed to ‘assert who we are as a country’ as he rebuked Elon Musk | GETTY”The negotiations that we picked up from the last Conservative Government, which were very developed negotiations, were started and we continued with them because of our national security analysis as to the importance of the base on Diego Garcia,” the Attorney General said.Lord Hermer said he hoped in the “coming weeks and months” the Government would be able to sign the treaty, claiming it was in the national interest of the country.Lord Hermer added: “As you know, although the United States started off supporting under President Trump the deal, there has been a change of position. We remain determined to try and get it done.”The Attorney General’s X account regularly posted throughout the year until two weeks ago – including a March Eid Mubarak message which had replies turned off.Other posts with replies turned off include a video explaining the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).