Gary Lineker tweet

2023 - 3 - 9

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Independent"

Breaking news: Gary Lineker has done a tweet that the government ... (The Independent)

There is much to be said for toning down rhetoric, but it can only start in one place. And that place is with the Tory party, not the presenter of Match of ...

The immigration minister also reckons that Lineker is “paid for by the British taxpayer [which isn’t true], and it’s disappointing that he is so far out of step with the British public.” It’s not necessarily all that clear whether Jenrick has thought very hard about whether he really wants to be suggesting that publicly funded salaries should somehow be index linked to being “in step with the British public”. If the home secretary writes execrable garbage in the newspapers, and repeats it in the House of Commons, about how “100 million people are coming here,” people are not merely entitled but obliged to show zero tolerance. It is their choice, for example, to frame their policy as a battle with human rights lawyers. But there are ways to go about it that don’t deliberately bear the hallmark of authoritarianism. He has described the asylum policy thus: “An immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.” You would also think that after nearly a full decade of frothing, they would have finally got round to understanding that BBC impartiality guidelines do not apply to freelance staff in the sports department. It wasn’t sufficient to stop Piers Morgan lovingly changing his social media profile pictures to photos of him and Trump with their arms round each other, and to write gushing columns about how great it felt to be called “the champ” by an unapologetic racist; not to mention a man who is [happy to wear a microphone and brag about sexually assaulting women](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-gets-caught-making-vulgar-comments-in-2005-a7351346.html). But rare is not the same as never. (Not long after the referendum, one right-wing newspaper columnist became so outraged by him that he publicly announced a ban on Walkers Crisps in his own household, which is totally normal behaviour.) There are no lessons to be learned here with the power of hindsight. And there are depositions filed in a New York court house that show [Uncle Rupert panicking that his own TV network, Fox News, “went too far” ](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rupert-murdoch-trump-election-fox-news-dominion-b2296202.html)in indulging Trump’s deranged conspiracy theories about stolen elections. There is much to be said for toning down rhetoric, but it can only start in one place.

Gary Lineker says he does not fear BBC suspension over asylum ... (BBC News)

The Match of the Day host said he stands by his tweet that criticised the government's asylum policy.

Asked if he stood by the tweet, he said: "Course". He wrote on social media: "Happy that this ridiculously out of proportion story seems to be abating and very much looking forward to presenting [Match of the Day] on Saturday. He added that the policy was "full of fudge" and the BBC needed to clarify "to what extent impartiality rules extend beyond news". Ms 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" but that the broadcaster is "operationally independent" of the government. Pressed on whether he had spoken to the BBC director general, he said he had and that they "chat often". It's been overwhelming."

Gary Lineker says he doesn't fear suspension from BBC role - and ... (Sky News)

Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker has told reporters outside his London home that he stands by his criticism of the government's asylum seeker policy ...

[Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts](https://podfollow.com/skynewsdaily) Before closing the door, he was asked if he regretted his tweet. His remarks have sparked a row over whether he adhered to the BBC's impartiality guidelines. well we chat often." Asked if he had spoken to the director general, he said, after a pause, "yeah" before adding: "He said... As he passed round the back of the vehicle, he said "no" when asked if he fears suspension over his tweets.

I agree with Gary Lineker on refugees. But he should delete his ... (The Guardian)

The presenter has the right to air his views, but it will harm the corporation he loves, says broadcaster and former BBC executive Roger Bolton.

[Richard Sharp](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/feb/12/bbc-chairman-richard-sharp-breached-standards-johnson-loan) has not yet resigned as BBC chair in the light of the clear conflicts of interest the revelations about [Boris Johnson’s finances](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/28/boris-johnson-asked-to-stop-seeking-richard-sharps-advice-on-finances-reports-say) have revealed. First that the country is deeply divided, second that the present government is determined to make this a key election issue and third that in the short term at least the numbers will not drop significantly. There are plenty of politicians and papers who will ignore the facts or claim the corporation is guilty of biased reporting, and they may, almost certainly will, point to Lineker’s tweets as evidence of this. Bluntly, because the future of the BBC is at stake, and that is more important in the long term than his undoubted right to tweet. As such, he has a personal responsibility not to do anything that may bring the BBC into disrepute, and one of the BBC’s most precious characteristics is its impartiality. Gary Lineker is a brilliant presenter, and by all accounts a good man who cares deeply about the underdog.

Gary Lineker 'went too far' with migrant Bill tweet, says senior Labour ... (Telegraph.co.uk)

Emily Thornberry condemns BBC presenter for 'overstepping the mark' with his comments about No 10's immigration policy.

I’m just happy to have been better in the 6 yard box than you are at the dispatch [sic.] box. “I just think that there is a special place in hell for the Nazis. In response to Ms Mordaunt’s comments, Lineker tweeted: “Thank you for mentioning me in your clumsy analogy. I think that he went too far.” “I think some of the language that Gary Lineker has used in the last 24 hours has been really very unfortunate, and I wouldn’t have used some of the [comments],” Ms Thornberry told Sky. [Gary Lineker](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/03/07/gary-lineker-blasted-tory-mps-comparing-suella-bravermans-illegal/) “went too far” by comparing [the Government’s small boats policy](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/03/07/rishi-sunak-fight-lawyers-small-boats-crackdown/) to Nazi Germany, Emily Thornberry has said as Labour figures joined the backlash against the presenter’s remarks.

Gary Lineker hints he will avoid BBC suspension over government ... (WalesOnline)

Football presenter tweeted that he was 'looking forward' to being on our screens on Saturday evening to present Match of the Day.

I’m just happy to have been better in the 6 yard box than you are at the dispatch box. But the row between Lineker and the Government deepened when Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt used him as an analogy for Labour's position on the legislation during a bizarre rant on Thursday. "And it needs a team captain who knows his own mind, has a plan and what colour his football shirt is." 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." [The Mirror ](https://www.mirror.co.uk)online, Lineker suggested he would not be reprimanded and was "looking forward" to being on our screens on Saturday evening to present the popular football highlights show. The 62-year-old Match of the Day presenter caused outrage among some after he retweeted a Home Office video on its new Illegal Migration Bill, describing it as "beyond awful".

Gary Lineker hints he will escape BBC suspension over Government ... (Mirror.co.uk)

Gary Lineker suggested he will not be reprimanded by the BBC for his political tweet and was 'looking forward' to being on our screens on Saturday evening ...

Best wishes." In a nod to Labour soaring ahead in the polls, Ms Mordaunt added: "Labour might be up at half time but the second half is yet to be played." It needs centre forwards. It needs people that put in the hard work, take tough decisions, grip a problem and work out how to solve it and create those opportunities and that is what we are doing." [Match of the Day](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/match-of-the-day) presenter, 62, has been in hot water after he retweeted a Home Office video on its new Illegal Migration Bill and described it as "beyond awful" and [Lineker referred to the language used by the Nazis in Germany](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-gary-lineker-government-bbc-29402379) during that period. Ms Mordaunt said Labour of "borrowing from the Gary Lineker playbook" as it tries to jump on opportunities like a "goal hanger".

'Irony of right-wingers wielding red card over Gary Lineker's ... (Mirror.co.uk)

Brian Reade analyses the issues surrounding Tory outrage over Gary Lineker's recent tweet about the Government's immigration policy.

And despite this latest attempt to chuck red meat at Tory voters in the cynical hope that it will stop them being wiped out at the next election, they haven’t had a clue how to sort it out. This is the crucial point about a man who has actually taken two refugees into his own home. [stick up for desperate people](https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-gary-lineker-refusing-delete-29405243) he believes deserve a better life. The irony is that virtually all of Lineker’s critics believe that it’s fine for the BBC chairman to donate £400,000 to the Tories but not a sports freelancer to criticise their policies. You think he would have learned from 2016 when, after tweeting “the treatment by some towards young refugees is hideously racist and utterly heartless”, there were calls not just for the BBC to sack him from Match of the Day but, and this was proposed by the leader of UKIP, to boycott Walkers Crisps which Lineker helped promote. If he really wants to keep on introducing the highlights of football games for the BBC then he needs to realise it’s not the subjects he tweets about that matter, it’s the way that he tweets them.

Gary Lineker tweet

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