For those who think the the BBC vs Gary Lineker row has gone over the top and is simply all pants. You could be right.

That was the time to have sacked him.

It's great. There are certain types of people who hate the BBC. And they hate Lineker.

Now they have to decide whether the BBC or Lineker acted correctly!

News is news; sports is sports.

I’m not likely to turn to a football commentator to learn of immigration policy.

I actually like both, and don't want to see the Tories win. One of the reasons the beeb is considered a lefty institution is because many of the people who work there have a social conscience and are willing to earn less than their counterparts at ITV, Sky etc.. because they truly believe in it.

Surely this should be in the "Cancel Culture" thread

Seems the BBC has massively shot itself in own foot; assuming both the BBC has feet and massively is the correct adverb.

Actually when you come to think of it, the BBC did a far better job of trying to 'level up' the north south divide than ever the Tories have managed to do or accomplish ( have they even started ?? ) in the present government during the decades when the BBC was synonymous with socialism.

First with the sitcom - The Likely Lads and a host of other examples under their Play for Today and When The Boat Comes In.

Interesting, the rather right wing Andrew Niell, who hosted the Politics Program on the BBC, wasn't remonstrated for any of his outside political commentry.

Aside from the absurdity, and some would say offensiveness, of the original tweet, I just don't see how people don't get that this isn't a freedom of speech issue.

Due to the impartiality of the BBC thanks to the way it is funded these clauses exist in employees contracts. If Gary Lineker want's to make ridiculous comparisons between border controls and Nazi Germany than he's free to do so, but not if he works for the BBC. Go to Sky, or ITV or wherever, I'm sure he wouldn't have any trouble getting a job there.

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It’s thrown up some embarrassing examples of hypocritical double-standards of BBC employees, journos and others getting away with open Brexit support, criticism of the opposition, vilifying Corbyn and all the good stuff the Tories like but one tweet from Lineker criticizing the disgusting language of the Home Secretary and suddenly he’s cancelled.

Didn’t you read his tweet? He didn’t “want’s [sic] to make ridiculous comparisons between border controls and Nazi Germany”. He was referring to the obvious comparisons in the Home Secretary's narrative.

Also, there are no such clauses in “employees contracts”. Lots of guidance but no such clauses.

It’s interesting to watch. People are up in arms about Lineker being cancelled, yet the same people were trying to get JK Rowling cancelled for speaking her opinion. Whether people think you should be allowed free speech or not seems to depend on how woke leaning your opinion is!

And they were all happy going to Qatar for the World Cup too. The hypocrisy knows no bounds.

If they want to spout off their opinions then why not just leave like Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel?

It seems to me that it’s a question of who it is and what they say as to how they are sanctioned.
There’s no real consistency.

This is also an issue, the BBC needs to be consistent. I think issues arise where shows on the BBC are bought from a production company compared presenters working directly for the BBC as in this case.

Who were the people in the centre of the hypothetical Venn diagram of calls for cancelation of JK Rowling and Gary Lineker?

Apart from people voicing an opinion, what is the connection between them?

What was Rowling canceled from?

Yeah, if you spout opinions which chime with the tories (Andrew Neil, Prue Leith, Alan Sugar, John Humphrys), you’re all fine. That kind of inconsistency?

Maybe because the Chairman is a Tory donor? That’d help.

As someone who really doesn't follow UK news that much, it strikes me as funny that all the discussion is about this stupid Lineker situation and no one discusses the actual bill. Is that perception wrong? Is there any debate about the bill as such?

We’re all steering well clear of that as somebody is sure to bring the dreaded B word into the discussion.

There is certainly not any debate, or attention on the government and this is exactly how they want it. The whole thing is an exercise in distraction for them, and now everyone is either mad at the Beeb / Lineker or refugees and not Sunak and co. And it certainly is working. Masterclasse from the Tories.



Amazing to watch a country like the UK slowly slide toward fascism.