Linekar

Thoughts ? You’ve spelt his name wrong 😂

Ludicrous decision unless they’re going to drop the likes of Lord Sugar ,Prue  Leith and any other BBC presenter that tweets or says anything slightly political. Andrew Neil was a right wing loon who was never censored 🙄

That is absolutely brilliant
Thanks for posting
😂😂😂😂

It’s an interesting one. I think it’s a storm in a tea cup really. A footballer, or ex-footballer has tweeted something that some people don’t like. Had the BBC done nothing then I think it would have been over by now. Some Tory MPs would have had a moan and most people would have ignored them and the main story would have continued to be the Migrant Policy and Rishi meeting Macron.
But they didn’t, they felt the need to implement their policy of impartiality.

Anyway some thoughts:
…. We know that GL, from previous tweets /views is probably against this government. He likes to publicise his views and I think he did this to cause a bit of mischief. But whenever people (JB? In the past) express their views and use any of the terms ‘nazi’, ‘Germany of the 30s’, ‘holocaust’ or any other that draws a comparison with that awful period of time they’ve immediately linked whoever, the government in this case, to the Adolph Hitler times in Germany and this makes it far more emotional than it should be. The links he made with that time were ridiculous and people involved can certainly take offence at what he said. Had he tweeted more about the incompetence of this government he would have been more accurate and got his point across far more effectively.

…. To draw comparison with what the Nazis did or said whether in fact or cleverly by implication was wrong and stupid. And that is what has caused, and always does cause such offence. Any survivor of that awful time could quite rightly shake their heads at such inept use of words. It is nothing like it.

…. As a regular listener to the Today programme I get the impression that BBC interviewers, political pundits, correspondents give Government ministers a fairly hard time as they always do because what they are doing effects us and our lives. I have no sympathy for them but I can understand why the Government feels there is an anti-right wing bias among the BBC. They are held to account far more rigorously than the opposition. Understandably obviously because what the opposition says, in this case the left wing Labour Party, is just noise and doesn’t really count. And of course at the moment Starmer isn’t going to be saying anything worth listening to because his only policy at the moment seems to be keep quiet and let the government do his job for him as they are so incapable of doing anything without making errors. But, and I’m not sure about this, I get the impression that some of the people at the top are far more right-wing and will want to show themselves as strong and impartial. (Esp with the Licence fee still to be decided) Current trends in TV: more choice, more independent streams, (none of my children watch the BBC, they watch streams and others). The BBC is changing and the people running it are worried, they need to show strength. By implementing this policy they think they are doing this.

….. The people coming out of the woodwork with this story has been quite comical. Alistair Campbell this evening being outraged and talking about government influence and pressure. Slightly ironic after remembering his work for Tony Blair and how the government influenced the Iraq War and the poor David Kelly. I don’t think Campbell does ‘shame’. 

…. Another aspect of this story…….Hearing about the responses of Ian Wright and Shearer also made me wonder. I can understand that they want to show solidarity with their mate, most people may respond in a similar way. I presume they are contracted to do their punditry for the BBC and by refusing to do so this weekend are they in breach of contract? Now we are only having the commentaries which may well be better so no complaint from me if I’m in to watch them. But it smacks of ‘my mates not doing it so I’m not going to do it either.’  Perhaps a case of the tail wagging the dog? Some people may really enjoy MOTD as it is and their enjoyment will now be compromised by people withdrawing their labour. 

…. BBC incompetence, withdrawing GL before they’d established a plan B for tomorrow or a principalled BBC? GLs tweet certainly wasn’t impartial but then he’s never been impartial so perhaps an accident waiting to happen.  And not only do those working for the BBC need to be impartial, they need to be seen to be impartial. I’m not sure GL passes either of those tests, but then he never did so perhaps no surprise.
Hey ho.

Mick Channon could never pronounce his name right during Mexico '86. 😃

Line Acre 

I thought Lineker is a freelancer on not a direct, contracted, employee. But either way he is bound by the same guidance...whilst broadcasting.

What he said was in his own time and on his own, personal, social media. He did not invoke or refer to the BBC in any way. Are you suggesting now that employers or buyers of our services have oversight and editorial control of our personal statements?

As Patience Wheatcroft so eloquently put it this morning, guidance is only valid if it is applied equally and equitably. It hasn't been. Sugar was just one example when he called for people to vote Tory, not the current chairman, Richard Sharp, who has been found to be in breach of BBC's impartiality rules over his brokering of loans to that old scally, Johnson. He continues to be under investigation but not suspended. Lineker is suspended for saying what an awful lot think.

Fair and equitable...my ass. The dark hand of an insecure government are all over this.

I'm sure he is.

I notice no one on any of the threads is actually disagreeing with what Lineker actually said.

Meader is, not speaking to BBC thread, page 3.