Lord Thurso admits he doesn't have a clue how Twitter works

Self-confessed dinosaur cannot see why MPs would want to use Twitter in the House

One of the senior Liberal Democrat MPs responsible for the administration of the Commons has publicly confessed his ignorance about two of the most popular forms of internet communication.

Lord Thurso, the only blue-blooded aristocrat to have been elected to parliament after being ejected from the Lords, told the Commons: "I am a dinosaur when it comes to the twittery-thingy and really haven't a clue how it works."

The 56-year-old MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was responding on behalf of the House of Commons Commission to a challenge from former Labour Minister Tom Watson who told him: "Younger members of this House, and dare I say more progressive members of this House, scrutinise the executive using social media like Facebook and Twitter... Could you give your unequivocal commitment that members of this House should be able to use Twitter to hold the government to account?"

Lord Thurso paused before asking Watson for a private discussion to find out exactly what he was talking about.

He said later: "As a good Liberal I am happy that everyone else should do what they like but I have no use for it myself.

"I regard tweeting as verbal incontinence, too long for a sound bite and too short for serious comment."

He cheerfully confessed he knows very little about Facebook and added: "I still use a fountain pen."

Watson raised the issue after Deputy Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle banned the use of Twitter in the chamber.