The Twitter employee who temporarily deactivated Donald Trump’s account was reportedly a contractor.

After @realdonaldtrump’s 11-minute Twitter hiatus ended, Twitter attributed the deactivation to “a Twitter customer support employee who did this on the employee’s last day” and said it was conducting a full investigation.

But according to the New York Times, the person responsible was not a full-time employee but a third-party contractor - a revelation that seems likely to amplify questions about how Twitter allowed one of the world’ most prominent accounts to be taken down.

The company did not respond to questions from The Independent about which of its employees have the authority to deactivate accounts.

According to the New York Times report, hundreds of people at Twitter have access to the accounts of important figures.

The dominant social media platform has faced regular questions about its guidelines for suspending or permanently dissolving accounts - including after North Korea called Mr Trump’s bellicose tweets a declaration of war.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

In response, Twitter said that the guidelines it applies for suspensions include whether something is newsworthy or of public interest.