Gary Lineker's tweet

Galaxy

Not sure that Sky rubbing its hands in glee is a good thing though. What a mess.

No, I don't think it's a good thing either.

Galaxy

Not sure that Sky rubbing its hands in glee is a good thing though. What a mess.

Will Sunak and Braverman be rubbing their hands with glee though?

I see Richard Osman has tweeted in support of Gary Lineker and various sportsmen who would norrmally discuss sport with him agree with his stance.

GrannyGravy13

Alastair Campbell has apparently come out in support of GL and raging against the Government.

He did omit that his podcast is produced by a company which GL is the major shareholder.

That was certainly pointed out in the interview with him that I saw.

Jeff Stelling will be busy on Sky’s Gillette Soccer Saturday.

Well done, Lineker! Whatever the marginal effect of BBC rules it was right to attack this appalling treatment of refugees by a rotten Tory government. It's simply posturing to attract votes from racists and anti-immigrant groups. Disgraceful.

And if the BBC want to know how to have unbiased political discussions I would suggest they listen to The Rest is Politics which is now, I believe the most popular podcast in this country and is listened to by people all over the world.

Astonishing that the rightwingers often claim to defend freedom of speech!

Brilliant cartoon in today's "i"

wp.inews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SEI_147730648.jpg?resize=760,453

GrannyGravy13

Alastair Campbell has apparently come out in support of GL and raging against the Government.

He did omit that his podcast is produced by a company which GL is the major shareholder.

Yup.

I saw a clip of Alistair Campbell being interviewed this morning. The interviewer prefaced his first question with the fact that Campbell's podcast is produced by a Lineker company. Campbell suggested that all interviewees should be given the same sort of preface.

"So, Richard Sharp, tory party donor, facilitator of loans for Boris Johnson and former boss of PM Rishi Sunak, what do you think about the government's policy on refugees and asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats because there is no legal route available to them?"

FannyCornforth

Galaxy

Not sure that Sky rubbing its hands in glee is a good thing though. What a mess.

Will Sunak and Braverman be rubbing their hands with glee though?

Quite honestly, a short and fairly innocuous tweet has been blown out of proportion. I don't know whether the government has done it deliberately to detract from everything else going on, whether it's so defensive about its new policy that it can't cope with any challenge or whether it's just inept.

There's no doubt that the government will have impressed some people with the policy. The media messaging all smacks of a co-ordinated plan (maybe they learnt something from Cummings), but I think they really do underestimate public opinion on this. They're not winning.

I still think they know full well that the policy won't work, but the messaging is what matters. They don't have much else to recommend them.

P.S Campbell didn't actually say that, but a clip of his interview can be seen here:

twitter.com/TobiFrenzen/status/1634472820842397696

Plus Fiona Bruce setting the context about Hitler invading Poland..

twitter.com/MrJonDePlume/status/1634306239793340417

In case anyone is in doubt I think the government is right, migrants of all kinds should be detained until their status is established.

It's my understanding that they already are, Katie59.

Perhaps you haven't taken in the full extent of the proposals.

It's not about detaining them before processing their applications. It is about detaining them preparatory to deporting them (to god knows where) without considering any applications for anything. It is denying asylum seekers their rights under international law. It is also denying women trafficked for sex and young men trafficked for sex or work, access to the UK Modern Slavery scheme.

What is more, people so deported, if they ever manage to return to the UK and live and work here will never be allowed to apply for British citizenship.

Is it correct that if someone is sent to Rwanda and their claim is found to be genuine they still have to stay in Rwanda? I seem to remember reading it a while back.

Yes, MayBee that is what it would mean.

It is a totally weird world when the people speaking up for free speech are sports presenters. They seem to have formed a united support group for Lineker. Arguably they are simply putting into practice Lord Reith's three purposes for the BBC "Inform, educate, entertain."

growstuff

Oreo

Katie59

It will kill the BBC for sure if it becomes subscription because very few will pay for news and culture, the future could well be commercial like almost all other broadcasters.

Lineker went too far with his tweet, as a celebrity with a massive BBC contract, his private opinions should be kept private. Do we really want presenters expressing personal opinions on every controversial subject or using their public profile to promote any particular agenda.

You’re right, we don’t!
Massively overpaid presenters start to get high opinions of themselves and their pronouncements to the waiting world.
Nobody’s indispensable either.

Who's "we"? You don't speak for me and don't even dare to think you do.

Well, how very dramatic😂
What will you do, send the boys round?

The great thing about Lineker's tweet, and the storm it has created, is that it quickly exposes the xenophobes, racsists, English exceptionalists and little Englanders as they crawl out of the woodwork.

I have copied and tidied up this series of tweets from someone who worked at the BBC

@andybell2000

Permit me an observation on the controversy surrounding @GaryLineker's view on immigration and asylum as expressed in his now notorious tweet.

I worked in the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit for around a decade, adjudicating on complaints that there had been breaches of the BBC's editorial standards, including precisely such issues as those raised by the Lineker case.

The first step is to consider exactly what the BBC's (excellent) Editorial Guidelines have to say on the matter. This might seem pretty obvious but it appears to have been overlooked by most people attacking Lineker, not least of all the Culture Secretary

So, the relevant guideline here is this: "15.3.13 Where individuals identify themselves as being linked with the BBC, or are programme makers, editorial staff, reporters or presenters primarily associated with the BBC, their public expressions of opinion have the potential to compromise the BBC’s impartiality and to damage its reputation. This includes the use of social media and writing letters to the press. Opinions expressed on social media are put into the public domain, can be shared and are searchable...

The risk is greater where the public expressions of opinion overlap with the area of the individual’s work.

The risk is lower where an individual is expressing views publicly on an unrelated area, for example, a sports or science presenter expressing views on politics or the arts."

All very sensible, as the Guidelines invariably are. And, note, they give as an example almost precisely the set of circumstances we are actually considering here.

So, the question is not whether Lineker, as a BBC employee (some of the time at least) is entitled to express such a view but whether, if he does, there is any real risk that the BBC's own impartiality might be compromised. In other words, might the view he expresses be taken to be the view of the BBC. Even the guidelines concede that in these particular circumstances the risk is low. Hands up those who think there is any such risk at all... No, thought not.

Someone has to decide whether impartiality has been breached, in this and all other cases. It's not that easy. I would just abolish that clause entirely. But they wouldnt let me run the BBC.

Rameses

The great thing about Lineker's tweet, and the storm it has created, is that it quickly exposes the xenophobes, racsists, English exceptionalists and little Englanders as they crawl out of the woodwork.

Nice. Not.

I assume you completed your education at the “Miss Piggy School of Charm”.

Galaxy

Someone has to decide whether impartiality has been breached, in this and all other cases. It's not that easy. I would just abolish that clause entirely. But they wouldnt let me run the BBC.

There are already stations like that, Like GB News. Is that what you want?

Urmstongran

Rameses

The great thing about Lineker's tweet, and the storm it has created, is that it quickly exposes the xenophobes, racsists, English exceptionalists and little Englanders as they crawl out of the woodwork.

Nice. Not.

I assume you completed your education at the “Miss Piggy School of Charm”.

But true.

What is the problem that people have with the truth?

Urmstongran

Rameses

The great thing about Lineker's tweet, and the storm it has created, is that it quickly exposes the xenophobes, racsists, English exceptionalists and little Englanders as they crawl out of the woodwork.

Nice. Not.

I assume you completed your education at the “Miss Piggy School of Charm”.

Oh! But Miss Piggy is so lovely!

The question is, however, would she be able to defend herself against the not so charming people who have crawled out of the woodwork.

I’m sure that she’d be fine!