Susan Hall ridiculed over ‘Labour will ban X’ rumour as scrutiny grows over her social media posts

Susan Hall has come under fire after amplifying an unfounded rumour claiming Andy Burnham and Labour were planning to ban X in the UK, in what has been another bruising week for the Conservative London Assembly leader’s social media activity.

Hall was mocked after reposting a claim from a patriotic X account with more than 21,000 followers, which alleged: “RUMOURS THAT BURNHAM AND LABOUR ARE GOING TO TRY AND BAN X AS SOON AS THEY CAN IN THE UK THIS FOLLOWS THEM FORCING YOUTUBE TO PUSH BBC AND SKY NEWS ON THEIR SITE THE UK IS TURNING COMMUNIST.”

Sharing the post, Hall added: “There will be hell to pay if this is true. @elonmusk will have to come and rescue us happy tweeters!”

While some users backed Hall’s concerns, others questioned why a senior Conservative politician was sharing an unsubstantiated online rumour.

“Might give you time to actually do some real things instead of shouting at things on here Sue,” one user replied.

Another wrote: “When the Leader of a once great party (in status if not policy) @Conservatives in the @LondonAssembly is relegated to using as her source a hate filled Islamophobe as her source, then you realise just how far the party has fallen. Shame on you @KemiBadenoch. You are judged by the company your party keeps. This is what @Councillorsuzie judges as someone to quote.”

A third commented: “X is only banned in China, Russia, Iran, & Myanmar. Says a lot about the UK today that this is even deemed a potentially credible position of this rabble of losers that run the place.”

The backlash comes as Hall is already facing scrutiny over another controversial social media post that has prompted calls for an investigation.

Earlier this week, it emerged that Labour had formally complained after Hall shared what is believed to have been an AI-generated video depicting a small boat migrant brandishing a machete.

The clip showed a man wearing a life jacket on a dinghy shouting, “This is the end of England,” while waving a large blade and throwing papers overboard.

Alongside the video, Hall wrote: “‘This is the end of England’ he shouts. If we don’t stop these wretched boat crossings he could be right.

“Deport them all I say. They should not be allowed to stay here under any circumstances.”

Hall later deleted the post after being informed the footage may have been AI-generated.

In a letter to the Greater London Authority’s Monitoring Officer, Rory McKenna, Labour Assembly Member for Lambeth and Southwark, Marina Ahmad argued that Hall’s actions may have breached the authority’s Code of Conduct.

“It is clear from the video and Assembly Member Hall’s accompanying text that it is being used to make a political point about small-boat crossings, deportations and migration,” Ahmad wrote.

“Assembly Member Hall is entitled to her views on these topics, even if I disagree with those views. Political disagreements are vital to the democratic process…However, using fake AI generated videos to express these views is wrong.”

Ahmad, who chairs the Labour group on the London Assembly, said Hall may have breached the principle that public office holders “should be truthful”.

She added: “AI-generated misinformation is not a toy for politicians chasing clicks. This is exactly the sort of fake, inflammatory content that is poisoning our politics.

“Susan Hall needs to explain to Londoners why she was happy to share it.”