Lord Hermer has banned his staff from using social media platform X, citing concerns over “racism and misogyny.”
The Attorney General has prohibited his department from using Elon Musk’s platform, making it the first UK government department to take such a step.
The office’s official X account had been posting regularly until June 12.
Asked why his department stopped using the platform, Lord Hermer told the Commons Justice Committee: “I made that decision. I understand why other departments feel they need to be out there engaging with people, but that’s not where the Attorney General’s Office needs to be.
“I believe I can engage in serious, detailed and respectful debate without being on a platform that repeatedly descends into racism and misogyny. I think my department can do better than that.”
His remarks may raise eyebrows among Cabinet colleagues, many of whom use X daily.
The platform is also regularly used by Sir Keir Starmer, despite several public clashes with its owner, Elon Musk.
When committee chairman Andy Slaughter asked whether he would encourage other ministers to follow suit, Lord Hermer said: “As I said, I can see there are valid reasons why some departments and colleagues may want to be there, challenging things on that platform.”
Following the stabbing of Henry Nowak, Sir Keir accused Musk of “trying to whip up division” after the billionaire criticised Hampshire Police.
Musk posted 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, the same ones who wrote about George Floyd millions of times, are dead silent about Nowak.”
In another post, the Tesla owner said: “The West has created an utterly evil state religion where an accusation of ‘racism’ is treated as the gravest offence, even worse than rape or murder.”
Responding to the comments, Sir Keir said: “We also need to be clear about who we are as a country, because Musk has been interfering in our politics in recent days, trying to stir division. That is not who we are in Britain.”
Lord Hermer also said he remains hopeful the Government will pass the Chagos deal to hand sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, despite it being left out of the King’s Speech.
The Government failed to pass the Bill in the previous Parliament after Donald Trump withdrew support for the agreement.
The Chagos Islands are home to the joint US-UK military base at Diego Garcia, which Iran targeted with two ballistic missiles in March — one failed mid-flight, while the other was intercepted.
“The negotiations we inherited from the last Conservative Government were already well advanced,” the Attorney General said. “We continued them because of our national security assessment and the importance of the base on Diego Garcia.”
Lord Hermer said he hopes the Government can sign the treaty in the “coming weeks and months,” arguing it is in the country’s national interest.
He added: “Although the United States initially supported the deal under President Trump, that position has changed. We remain determined to get it done.”
The Attorney General’s X account had posted regularly throughout the year until two weeks ago, including a March Eid Mubarak message with replies disabled.
Other posts with replies turned off included a video explaining the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
