Depends what you want to shoot tbh. Cameras are quite specific to different types of photography unless you go straight into the top end of gear, which is very expensive. Crop sensors are confusing to learn on for a beginner due to the crop factor, especially when you need to learn what aperture, iso and shutter speed actually do and how they are all connected.
I think if someone got a camera with very good iso performance, which had an auto setting, they could start producing some good shots pretty much from the word go. Its rare that most users have to shoot over 1600 iso, let alone 6400 for example, so learning how to get the most out of flash photography, which is very hard to master, wouldn't be anywhere near as essential as it is on a body which has poor iso performance.
Saying that though, I'd still never condone someone new to photography paying £2k for a camera (or even over £1k tbh) as they might not even like the hobby anyway, potentially wasting a large chunk of cash!