Government should ‘stop using X or stop moaning about it’ – security expert

Professor Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, said it was a “mad situation” that the Government was “complaining loudly about X” and “blaming it in part” for the disorder, while continuing to use the social media platform.

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “crack down on anyone who is fuelling this division” when asked about social media’s role in the rioting.

Billionaire X owner Elon Musk, who continued overnight to promote calls for people to take to the streets in response to Monday’s knife attack in Belfast, has hit back at accusations he was inflaming tensions and blamed immigration policy.

Speaking to Times Radio, Professor Martin said: “So any minister who comes on and starts moaning about X, there’s only one question.

“Why is the Government still posting on it?

“Why is it still giving X money for doing nothing, essentially?

“So the Government has a very, very simple choice. Stop using X or stop moaning about it.”

He said: “Right now the Government is doing two things.

“First, it is complaining loudly about X and it’s blaming it in part for the grotesque scenes we saw in Belfast last night.

“At the same time, it is creating hundreds if not thousands of government and governing party X accounts.

“It’s creating huge amounts of content and giving it for free to X, to Elon Musk, so that X and Elon Musk can monetise it.

“That’s a mad situation and it’s a conscious choice by the Government.

“I’m not somebody who thinks that X should be banned. I’m not somebody who thinks that everybody needs to come off it.

“Some people, for very good reasons, prefer being on the platform.

“But this is the Government we are talking about.

“The Government has more agency, more freedom to choose than the rest of us do.”

Police are braced for more violence after a Sudanese man was remanded in custody over the knife attack that triggered the unrest.

Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over the stabbing in which the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, lost his left eye.

The reaction to the incident saw protesters set homes, a bus and cars on fire, with people targeted based on their race.

At PMQs, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey spoke of “extremists who exploit that grief and anger to spread hatred and violence, aided and abetted by social media barons like Elon Musk and their divisive algorithms”.

Sir Ed said: “Does the Prime Minister agree this is not who we are as a country, and that it is not free speech if it is controlled by tech billionaires and their algorithms?

“So, will he crack down properly on platforms like X that are fuelling violence and hatred?”

Sir Keir responded: “We will crack down on anyone who is fuelling this division.”

Mr Musk shared lists on X of locations where protests could take place – also posted by activist Tommy Robinson – and reposted Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe’s post saying “Millions must go” with a screengrab of footage of the knife attack.

Asked whether Sir Keir intended to continue using X, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Wednesday: “We keep our communications channels under review, but there’s no change in our position currently.”