So the Internal Market Bill passed on its first reading. Forgive and permit me a rant, please. It's astonishing to me how this has been framed on the Leave voters vs. Remain voters argument – a. Independent commentary on law and policy from David Allen Green. Menu and widgets. Over on Twitter the comedian and writer David Schnieder offered his view: Amazing to think that David Cameron, who brought on the Brexit catastrofuck and the brutal failed policy of austerity and kneecapped the NHS and welfare and indulged in the most.

In 2010, when City lawyer David Allen Green (AKA Jack of Kent) was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize For Blogging on the back of his coverage of the Simon Singh libel trial, many thought he’d dominate the legal blogosphere for years.

But a mere two years on and Green has been knocked from his perch by Wiggy Beneath the Wig (AKA ex-barrister @_millymoo), who yesterday evening was revealed to have made this year’s prestigious Orwell shortlist of seven bloggers. Green was nowhere to be seen.

Last night, the de-throned king of British legal blogging took to Twitter to lament his loss. It made for great reading…

David Allen Green Twitter Account

He started graciously.

Then he entered into some gentle mourning.

Next, he began to ask why.

Fortunately, his disciples were on hand to provide comfort.

Annoyingly, Times journalist David Aaronovitch was less sympathetic.

At which point an emotional Green accused writer Nesrine Malik of sending a misleading MT after she removed three words, “cathedral” and “next year”, from his original tweet.

As dawn broke over London, Green’s sadness had crystallised into anger – courageously unloaded onto BPTC student Lyndsay Pye.

A year ago, when The Times’ legal editor Frances Gibb joined Twitter, uploaded a profile photo and wrote herself a bio, legal market watchers rushed to follow her. Almost overnight, she attracted 200 of us.

What exciting law-related titbits was this well-connected hack going to reveal, we wondered? And kept wondering, as Gibb stubbornly refused to send a single tweet. Seasons passed. Revolution swept North Africa. The Euro teetered on the verge of collapse. And still Gibb remained silent. Who knows, perhaps she logged onto Twitter and belted out a few words on the legal aspects of those events before thinking better of sharing them.

“Not yet, Frances,” she may have whispered under her breath, as she noted that failure to tweet hadn’t prevented her follower count from rising to in excess of 800.

David Allen Green Twitter

Then last Thursday the new CPS list of approved advocates was released, and Gibb noted that it didn’t tally with the official letters sent out. It was time.

David Allen Green Twitter Joke Trial

“List of advocates who have made new CPS approved list is out today (also on http://thetimes.co.uk/law £) but doesn’t tally with letters sent out,” tweeted Gibb.

David Allen Green Twitter Page

David Allen Green Twitter Images

And then nothing again…

David Allen Green Twitter Accounts

Gibb’s fellow legal journalist David Allen Green suffers no such reluctance to share his feelings with his Twitter followers. Sometimes, though, he’s not very nice to them – a tendency that may partly explain his habit of deleting his tweets at the end of each week.

His followers don’t always delete them, of course. Here’s Green’s December exchange with trainee lawyer Mark Pentecost, who he calls “a twat”.

Pentecost: Seriously considering unfollowing everyone who is tweeting about x-factor. Even @DavidAllenGreen is at it. Good grief.

Green to Pentecost: Then just bloody un-follow and don’t whinge about it. Please

Pentecost to Green: Consider it done. Thanks. *sheesh*

Green quotes Pentecost’s bio back at him, “executive committee member of the Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society”, before adding: and clearly a twat