A flurry of high-profile legal Twitter users have announced they will stop posting or quit the site altogether  in response to the actions of its owner Elon Musk.

The South Africa-born US billionaire has been accused of stoking tensions through his posts on the recent UK riots, as well as failing to prevent certain users from inciting violence and disorder.

Musk has publicly called for judges to be arrested in response to people being jailed for online activity during the riots and said the British legal system needs ‘comprehensive reform’.

His response has proved too much for many lawyers who were previously regular posters on the site, now officially branded X.

The barrister tweeting under the username @crimegirl announced to her 67,000 followers that she could no longer remain an active participant of Twitter.

She added: ‘Elon Musk fanned the flames that cause friends and colleagues in immigration to fear for their lives. They have been unable to go into their offices. Buildings were set alight with refugee families inside. This is abhorrent in a free and peaceful democracy.’

Also quitting is employment solicitor Sundeep Bhatia, owner of Beaumonde Law Practice, consultant to Monaco Solicitors and a former Law Society Council member. He tweeted: 'On account of toxic Musk, I am leaving the platform after 14 years. Some have the Midas touch. Others turn gold into sand. Goodbye, farewell and Amen!'

Barrister Daniel Barnett of Outer Temple Chambers, who presents LBC's legal hour every Saturday, told his 20,000 followers that he is 'leaving twitter and moving to another platform, at least for now and probably forever. I no longer enjoy being here. My new details are in my user name. It’s been a fabulous decade or so, but nothing lasts forever. Thank you, everyone, for the friendship.'

Barnett has signposted lawyers to Bluesky Social - as has employment and sports law silk Sean Jones KC of 11KBW. Jones has tweeted what he calls a Bluesky 'starter pack' for the '#UKlegal diaspora'.

Gordon Exall, a barrister from Kings Chambers who tweets as @CivilLitTweet, said his account will be ‘mothballed’.

‘This will be the last post on this account for the foreseeable future. I have joined the “legal exodus” to Bsky @civlittweet.bsky.social,’ said Exall, who has 18,700 followers on Twitter. ‘All legal updates in the future will be posted (only) to that account.’

Steve Peers, professor of EU law and human rights law at Royal Holloway, University of London, told his 159,000 followers he would not use Twitter.

‘I won’t be on here as long as the owner is a far right freak who whines about the "right" to incite race riots, promotes violent racist extremists who incite them, and post racist memes himself,’ he said, adding that he will move onto Threads and BlueSky.

The Twitter exit even includes a law firm. Crane and Staples, based in Welwyn Garden City, said it would no longer post on the site, although it did not give a reason.

But perhaps the most prominent legal Twitter user, @secretbarrister, is sticking around.

The anonymous author posted last week: ‘I do not blame anyone leaving this site, given what it has become. But as long as there are charlatans lying about the law and undermining our justice system, I’ll be here, banging my tiny lawsplaining drum, churning out legal live tweets and laying some truth on yo sorry asses [sic].’

 

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