Gary Lineker ‘doesn’t fear BBC suspension’ and stands by his criticism of government

TV presenter Gary Lineker has said he does not fear suspension from the BBC in an impartiality row and stands by the comments he made on social media about the government’s asylum seeker policy.

The former England striker turned TV personality compared the language used by the government to lay out asylum plans to that used by ‘Germany in the 30s’. When asked by reporters outside his London home whether he stood by his tweet, the Match of The Day host replied: “Course.” And when asked if he feared being suspended he said: “No.”

In the tweet, the retired footballer, 62, wrote: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”

Downing Street later described the remarks as ‘not acceptable’, ‘inappropriate’ and ‘disappointing’. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Lucy Frazer, said it was ‘important for the BBC to retain impartiality if it is to retain the trust of the public who pay the licence fee’.

The BBC said on Wednesday it was having a ‘frank conversation’ with Lineker about the BBC’s guidelines on remaining impartial. In response to some of the criticism, Lineker tweeted on Wednesday: “I’ll continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no choice.”

According to The Independent, Piers Morgan defended the star’s criticism of the UK government’s new asylum policy, arguing that the Match Of The Day host is ‘not a news reporter’. Though a BBC source said that the corporation was taking the matter ‘seriously’ and expects to have a ‘frank conversation’ with the ex-England striker.

Morgan and Lineker are known to have clashed online multiple times previously on various issues, but on Talk TV on Wednesday, Morgan said he had ‘no problem’ with Lineker expressing his personal views online. He said: “Gary got a bit carried away, as he tends to do. We get into it quite regularly, this is what he does and he would say the same about me.

“We both have strong opinions, we both believe in what we say and we express them forcefully, but we agree to disagree.”

Morgan went on to say that had Lineker made his remarks while presenting Match Of The Day, the criticism would have been ‘justified’.

BBC director-general Tim Davie told the BBC he had not spoken to Lineker, before being asked about how many ‘strikes’ he has had on impartiality and social media. Mr Davie said: “I wouldn’t talk specifically about individuals; I don’t think it’s right. I think the BBC absolutely puts the highest value on impartiality and that’s clearly important to us.”

Lineker is a freelance broadcaster for the BBC, not a permanent member of staff, and is not responsible for news or political content so does not need to adhere to the same rules on impartiality as other employees.