BBC tries to end crisis by reinstating Lineker as presenter

By Sarah Young and Kate Holton

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) – Britain’s BBC media company reinstated its highest-paid presenter, Gary Lineker, on Monday after a decision to pull him off the air for his government criticism nearly sparked a riot in the public network .

The network was forced to cut much of its sports coverage over the weekend after anchors, pundits and commentators refused to show solidarity with Lineker, who had criticized the government’s immigration policy.

Lineker’s suspension prompted accusations from staff, opposition politicians and commentators that the politically neutral BBC bowed to government pressure, prompting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to step in to say I I hoped the situation would soon be resolved.

The uproar also shone the spotlight on company chairman Richard Sharp, who had not previously said he had given former Prime Minister Boris Johnson a loan shortly before he was appointed to the post by the government.

Sharp has not commented on the controversy since it erupted last week. The BBC said it would also consider how contributors like Lineker in areas other than news can use social media.

“I have been presenting sports on the BBC for almost three decades and I am extremely proud to work with the best and fairest channel in the world,” Lineker said, before returning to the issue of immigration.

“A final thought: As difficult as the past few days have been, they simply don’t compare to having to flee one’s home because of persecution or war to seek refuge in a distant country.

The publicly funded BBC had suspended Lineker for breaching its standards of impartiality by comparing British Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s rhetoric to language used in Germany in the 1930s.

Last year Braverman was criticized for his use of language when he described the arrival in southern England of thousands of asylum seekers in small boats as an “invasion”.

Lineker, a former captain of the England football team who hosts the country’s most popular football show (“Match of the Day”), once welcomed refugees into his home and co-founded a production company for podcasts whose shows include the popular “The Rest is Politics”.

Tim Davie became the BBC’s chief executive in 2020, promising to uphold the company’s impartiality in the face of increasingly violent conflict in the UK over a range of social and cultural issues.

He said on Monday that Lineker’s suspension had been appropriate and that the presenter – who has hosted the BBC’s main football recap and analysis program ‘Match of the Day’ since 1999 – had agreed to abide by current editorial guidelines. until new regulations are approved.

Lineker endorsed Davie on Monday, saying he had an “almost impossible job keeping everyone happy, especially in the equity area.”

(Writing by Kate Holton; additional reporting by UK desk, editing by Michael Holden and Hugh Lawson, editing in Spanish by Tomás Cobos)