David Frost tells Lisa Nandy that public figures should use all available channels to communicate
Lisa Nandy, who leads the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), has left X, with the department also set to step back from the social media platform.
In her final post on 2 July, Nandy said: “I’ve decided to leave this platform and my Department will too. A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate. It isn’t healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don’t want to support it.”
Replying to her own post, which only selected accounts were able to respond to, she added that she could be followed on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn under her handle @LisaNandyMP.
There has been no further activity from either her personal profile or the department’s account since the post, and no additional context has been provided about the decision.
DCMS oversees UK sports policy and the listed events regime that keeps major sporting events free to watch. It has recently proposed extending the rules through its “Watch this Space” green paper to include on-demand and catch-up rights for events such as the World Cup, Olympics and Wimbledon.
Tensions between the UK government and Elon Musk have been on the rise since Musk acquired the platform in 2022, about concerns around misinformation, far-right content and rising levels of abuse on X.
Other members of the government have also stepped back from the platform. Louise Haigh, the Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley and former Transport Secretary, deactivated her account, describing X as an “utterly unusable” and “vicious, depressing place”.
Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, has also reduced her activity, previously calling X a “despotic place of misery”.
Not everyone agrees with her decision, however. David Frost, who was Chief Negotiator for Exiting the European Union from 2019 to 2020 and Boris Johnson’s Europe Adviser from 2019 to 2021, has said Nandy needs to “toughen up a bit”.
“I can tell Lisa Nandy that, when I was doing the Brexit negotiations, I got waves of disagreement & often abuse on this platform in its pre-Elon form (and I still do to some extent),” Frost wrote on X.
“I don’t complain. There’s a mute button for the worst. It’s the price of also reaching lots of people. Lisa Nandy needs to toughen up a bit. She also needs to remember she is a Secretary of State who should be using all relevant channels to communicate.”
The department could, however, return to the platform following the expected election of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister, depending on how the next culture secretary approaches its communications strategy.
Nandy’s decision amid UK government clash with Musk
Since Musk purchased Twitter for $44bn and rebranded it X, the billionaire has clashed with UK officials and repeatedly called for political change in the country. These calls for change have bordered on inciting violence.
“This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business,” read a past post by Musk.
“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here. Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”
Earlier this year, the UK government also warned X over the circulation of sexualised AI-generated images produced by its Grok tool, with threats of potential restrictions if action was not taken.
Sport engagement on X
DCMS plays an important role in UK sports policy, funding structures and governance frameworks across professional and grassroots sport.
X, despite increased scrutiny, is one of the most widely used platforms in global sport, particularly for breaking news, transfer updates, live commentary and fan engagement.
However, its position is challenged by other digital platforms. A 2025 report suggests 55% of fans now engage more with sports content on Meta platforms compared to a year ago, followed by YouTube at 52%, TikTok at 47%, sports streaming platforms at 42%, traditional TV at 36% and X at 33%.
The findings come from the “Beyond the Highlights” study by the National Research Group, though the figures should be treated with caution given Meta’s involvement in the report.
In 2025, Burnley agreed a partnership with the platform, which included content distribution and audience growth initiatives. The club generated more than 14.4 million views through the collaboration, with the deal also being the first X Original content commission in the UK.
Jonathan Lewis, UK Managing Director at X, said at the time: “Football is one of the most culturally unifying forces in the world, and this collaboration showcases how X can be the home for that shared experience – on the pitch, in the stands, and on your timeline.”
