Incoming chairman Samir Shah says he imagines the BBC is “considering its response”.
The BBC’s incoming chairman has suggested that Gary Lineker’s posts criticising Conservative politicians “seem to breach” the corporation’s social media rules.
Samir Shah said that the Match of the Day host appeared to have broken the rules by criticising MPs Grant Shapps, Jonathan Gullis and Lee Anderson.
The row was sparked when Lineker added his name to an open letter calling for the Government to scrap its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda earlier this week.
“I would imagine the BBC is now looking into that and considering its response,” Shah told Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Wednesday morning (13th December).
Lineker signed a letter calling on the government to create a “fair new plan for refugees” on Monday, sparking outrage among the Conservative MPs, who accused him of breaching the BBC’s impartiality rules.
Anderson said of Lineker on X (formerly Twitter): “For once in his life, Gary’s absolutely right – we do need a system that reflects the will of the British people. What the people want is to stop the boats and to tell overpaid crisp salesmen to put a sock in it.
“Alongside cracking down on illegal migration, we need another robust system which keeps Lineker as far away from the public as possible, to give us all a rest from his left wing out of touch nonsense.”
I guess we’ll find out what the will of the British people is at the next general election. If you do end up out of work, I’ll put in a word for you with @walkers_crisps 👍🏻 https://t.co/sxk3BPiNYG
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 11, 2023
In response, Lineker quote-tweeted Anderson, adding: “I guess we’ll find out what the will of the British people is at the next general election. If you do end up out of work, I’ll put in a word for you with Walkers.”
After Gullis accused the presenter of breaking the rules, Lineker said in a separate post: “Jonathan hasn’t read the new guidelines….or, should I say, had someone read them to him?”
Meanwhile, Lineker criticised Shapps’s use of names for his business dealings in response to the Defence Secretary’s comments that he “should get on with commenting on football and stop meddling in these other areas”.
Shah said it was the posts on X, rather than the signing of the letter, that he believes appear to breach the BBC’s social media rules.
The BBC laid out new rules for social media use by prominent presenters back in March.
The new guidance “focuses on everyone working for the BBC respecting ‘high standards of civility in public discourse’ and not bringing the organisation into disrepute”.
Shah said: “It doesn’t help anyone and it does damage to the reputation of BBC.
“I’d be keen to hear whether the media guidelines, as currently drawn up, are standing up to that test, or whether they need to be examined again.”
The BBC has not specifically commented on Lineker’s posts. On Monday, the corporation said: “We aren’t going to comment on individuals or indeed individual tweets.
“While the guidance does allow people to talk about issues that matter to them, it is also clear that individuals should be civil and not call into question anyone’s character. We discuss issues that arise with presenters as necessary.”
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