Tory MPs have called for the BBC to sack Gary Lineker after he compared the Government’s new migration policy to the tactics of Nazi Germany. But do you think the Match of the Day host should be sacked? Vote in our poll.
Mr Lineker shared a Twitter video from the Home Office featuring Suella Braverman unveiling the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill. In his retweet, he wrote: “Good heavens, this is beyond awful.”
In another Tweet, he said: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told Times Radio: “My children are the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and I think those sorts of words should not be thrown around lightly.
“Gary Lineker is paid for by the British taxpayer and it is disappointing that he is so far out of step with the British public.”
READ MORE: GMB guest rages ‘stick to football’ at Gary Lineker over migrant row
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He continued: “They see people dying, literally, in the English Channel at the behest of some of the most evil criminal gangs we see in the world today, and they want the government to take action. That’s exactly what we intend to do.”
Deputy Chair of the Conservative party, Lee Anderson, wrote on Facebook: “This is just another example of how out of touch these overpaid stars are with the voting public. Instead of lecturing, Mr Lineker should stick to reading out the football scores and flogging crisps.”
A spokesperson for the BBC said Mr Lineker will be “reminded of his responsibilities on social media”. They added: “The BBC has social media guidance, which is published. Individuals who work for us are aware of their responsibilities relating to social media. We have appropriate internal processes in place if required.”
So what do YOU think? Should the BBC sack Mr Lineker for his attack on the migrant bill? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
