- Gemma Crewe-Seddon
- BBC News
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Linker has publicly criticized the British government’s plans to stop irregular asylum seekers.
Prominent England footballer Gary Lineker has said he will continue to stand up for the “voiceless” following criticism for his tweets about the British government’s asylum policy.
Linker, who presents the BBC sports programme, described the language in which the plan was drawn up as “not dissimilar to the language used in Germany in the 1930s”.
British Home Secretary Zoella Braverman commented on the reports, saying she felt “disappointed”.
For its part, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) intervened after the reports, saying it had a “frank conversation” with Linger, who works for it, and reassured him of the need for physical neutrality.
Lineker, England’s top goalscorer at the World Cup, spoke out in response to the British government’s announcement of plans to crack down on people coming to Britain illegally in a bid to tackle a rise in the number of people crossing. English Channel from Europe in small boats.
Proposals to detain adults and quickly remove them from Britain, regardless of their asylum application, have been heavily criticized by opposition MPs and aid groups.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Choyla Braverman backed the plan, saying stopping illegal immigration was a priority for the British people.
Lineker described the government’s plan on Twitter as a “draconian policy not unlike the one used by Germany in the 1930s, targeting those most vulnerable to language and beyond any measure.”
Linger’s comments were widely criticized by Conservative MPs and ministers, the Home Secretary and other Downing Street ministers.
The uproar surrounding Lineker’s latest statements has put pressure on the BBC, especially as director-general Tim Davey makes the body’s impartiality a cornerstone of his leadership.
Responding to some of his criticism, Lineker tweeted Wednesday: “Glad to see free speech supporters this morning calling on those who disagree with them in greater numbers to shut up.”
Later, shortly after, he addressed his fans on Twitter: “I’ve never known such love and support in my life this morning (maybe World Cup goals with England). One of you. It means a lot.” .
The former England footballer and top scorer for England at the 1986 World Cup said, “I will continue to try and speak for the poor souls who have no voice.”
Earlier, minister Zoella Braverman told BBC One’s Breakfast she was disappointed by his comments.
Home Secretary Zoella Braverman responded to Lineker’s comments that the government stood with the British people
“I think it’s legal, proportionate and – really – unhelpful to compare our actions to what they did for Germany in the 1930s,” he said.
“I think we are on the side of the British people here,” he added.
Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s Office, later commented on Linegar’s criticism of the new asylum policy, describing it as “unacceptable”.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister told reporters: “It is disappointing to see someone on the payroll of hard-working British taxpayers using this kind of rhetoric and seemingly ignoring their (citizens’) legitimate concerns about small boats and illegal immigration.”
He added that it was the BBC’s responsibility and they would not comment further on it.
A spokesman for Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said the comparison with Germany in the 1930s was “not always the best way to present it”.
Lineker, who has presented Match of the Day since 1999, is the BBC’s highest-paid star, earning around £1.35m for the 2020-21 season.
He has championed immigrant rights and taken refugees into his home in the past. He has criticized successive Conservative governments on issues including Brexit.
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Linker’s frequent candid posts online were seen by some as a test for the BBC
In October, the BBC’s complaints department found that Lineker breached impartiality rules in a tweet when he asked if the Conservative Party wanted to “hand over donations received from Russian donors”.
The comments came after then foreign secretary Liz Truss urged Premier League teams to boycott the Champions League final in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
In 2020, the director of the BBC said he was prepared to sack staff to protect the BBC’s reputation for impartiality.
Davey published a new guide to BBC staff’s use of social media and said he was ready to “kick people off Twitter”, at which point Linker responded by saying “I think we can kick people off Twitter”.
Linker’s often candid posts online were seen by some as a test of the BBC’s ability to balance its duty to be impartial with its ability to attract top talent in the age of social media.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Lineker indicated that he had no intention of retracting his comments or recusing himself from politics as it was outside the scope of his work at the BBC.
Richard Sambrook, the BBC’s former director of global news, said the dispute highlighted the need for the BBC to clarify how impartiality rules apply to its sports staff and freelancers.
He told Radio 4 PM that unless the situation was clarified, such cases would “destroy trust” in the BBC.
The row over Lineker’s comments comes amid scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding the appointment of BBC chief Richard Sharpe and his relationship with former prime minister Boris Johnson.
A group of MPs said last month that Sharp had made “serious errors of judgement” by failing to disclose his involvement in the then prime minister’s finances when he sought a top job at the BBC.
Sharp insists he got the job based on his qualifications for the position.
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