Britain’s tech secretary has escalated the government’s feud with Elon Musk, saying he has stopped scrolling X since it was bought by the billionaire.
Peter Kyle said he no longer uses the social media app he used to “really enjoy”, and is even considering leaving the site.
In September, The Independent revealed that Mr Kyle, the cabinet minister responsible for social media and information technology, had not even spoken to the X owner Mr Musk, although the two had in effect communicated through intermediaries.
Mr Musk was then not invited to Sir Keir Starmer’s inaugural investment summit in the City of London, after spending the summer criticising his government on social media.
Asked whether X, formally Twitter, had got better since Mr Musk took it over in 2022, Mr Kyle told LBC: “No, it hasn’t. In fact, I don’t scroll through X anymore. I use it because I know that it is an audience that I really want to communicate with”
“In the past, I really enjoyed interacting on X. That enjoyment isn’t there anymore.”
And, asked whether he would stop using Mr Musk’s platform, Mr Kyle added: “I can see the circumstances where I would, but I again, Nick, I’m open minded about this kind of stuff going forward… It would be a very big step for me to turn away from an audience.”
His comments will do little to rebuild bridges with Mr Musk, who has been one of Sir Keir’s most prominent critics since Labour came to power in July.
In recent days, the Trump ally has accused Labour of turning Britain into “a police state” and “going full Stalin” with its controversial changes to inheritance tax for farmers.
On Tuesday Peter Mandelson, who is the favourite to be named as Britain’s next ambassador to the US, urged Sir Keir to use Nigel Farage as a bridge between Donald Trump’s incoming administration and the UK.
The Labour peer also warned that his party needs to end its feud with Mr Musk.
Speaking to the How to Win an Election podcast, Lord Mandelson, who is also in the race to become chancellor of Oxford University, insisted that the government needed to bring an end to the feud.
He said: “[Musk] is a sort of technological, industrial, commercial phenomenon. And it would be unwise, in my view, for Britain to ignore him. You cannot pursue these feuds. You can’t afford to do it. We should try and kick it into touch as soon as possible.
“If I were the government here, I’d be asking the embassy in Washington DC to find out who his other British friends are. Who are they all? And they’ve got to be used, I think, as a bridge to Musk. And so that’s what I would do.
“You know, swallow your pride, find out who his friends are and try and get into those networks. You cannot just continue this feud indefinitely. You’ve got to get over it. You’ve got to, he’s got to be reintroduced to the British government.
“And one good way of doing that might be through some of his British friends, even if they are not, as I say, you know, bright red supporters of the Labour government.”
Asked about whether Mr Farage should be used as a middle man, Lord Mandelson agreed.
He said: “Yes, I would include Nigel Farage. I mean, you can’t ignore him. He’s an elected member of parliament. He’s a public figure. He’s a bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others.
“You’ve got to be pragmatic, practical about this. You’ve got to work the national interest in and that national interest is served in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.”
