Forget the under-16s, can we ban TikTok for politicians?

Keir Starmer is on TikTok. But I assume that any serious politician ought to use the media that most people use - except that TikTok is banned on government devices because of security fears about its Chinese owner, ByteDance.

- JOHN RENTOUL

Those security concerns do not seem to have been resolved. They have simply been ignored. The prime minister’s spokesperson said “mitigations” were in place to operate the account.

That is only one of many puzzles about the new account. Another is why anyone would watch it. For the purposes of public service journalism, I have watched the first four posts on the prime minister’s account. It didn’t take long: they lasted for a total of 80 seconds.

In the first, Starmer says, “TikTok, follow me,” as he walks out of No 10 holding hands with his wife Victoria, before counting down to a boy switching on the Downing Street Christmas tree lights.

The second and third feature Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, arriving at No 10 and a group chat with Starmer, Emmanuel Macron of France and Friedrich Merz of Germany. The Christmas tree features again, and the third also features Larry, the Downing Street cat. Starmer says: “Larry? Larry will have to wait.”