Twitter has announced that it will establish a Twitter Trust and Safety Council, tasked with making the micro-blogging site a place where "anyone, anywhere can express themselves safely and confidently."

As the social network has struggled to keep pace with other social networks, it hopes to improve users' experience on the site by curtailing trolling, abuse and cyber bullying.

A wide network of advocacy groups will be part of the project - Samaraitans, the LGBT group GLAAD, the Safer Internet Centre, and the Internet Watch Foundation are among the project's 40 contributors. Child protection agencies, anti-racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-sexism groups will also take part.

In the past, Twitter has been accused of not doing enough to stop online abuse, former CEO Dick Costolo conceded that the company has struggled with this issue "we suck at dealing with trolls ... we’ve sucked at it for years," he said.

Nick Pickles, Twitter UK’s head of policy spoke to The Guardian about the new council:

"I don’t think we will have all the answers, but it is important to seek expertise in these still very young issues ... We want to make sure we hear different views and think about these challenges in the fullest and most nuanced way.”

He continued, "This comes from the top of the company – safety is never finished."