Gary Lineker's tweet

varian

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

Not for those who disagree with them

Love it FannyC.

I'm a great fan of Miss Piggy.

Ooh yes watch GB news all the time. Well done on your analysis of me.
It's impossible to discuss anything with nuance. People pick their side and shout from it, even at people who are probably on their 'side'.

Anyway, Larry the cat has tweeted that he's refusing the BBC's offer to present MotD.

So am I.
Funnily enough, I mentioned to MrC that our dog looks uncannily like that of Miss Piggy (Foo Foo, I think her name is).
While searching for a pic, I came upon this; which bears a striking resemblance to a typical evening chez Cornforth

Where can I buy a pair of the rose tinted glasses which erase all the racists and xenophobes from the British population?

growstuff

Anyway, Larry the cat has tweeted that he's refusing the BBC's offer to present MotD.

It’ll have to go to Dilyn then.
I hear he’s got contacts high up in the Beeb…

Galaxy

Ooh yes watch GB news all the time. Well done on your analysis of me.
It's impossible to discuss anything with nuance. People pick their side and shout from it, even at people who are probably on their 'side'.

I was just puzzled by your proposal and started thinking about what would happen if the requirement for impartiality was removed. I'm afraid that Fox News sprang to mind as well.

How would you see it working, then, Galaxy?

I think generally BBC employees should be able to privately say what they want (news and political presenters might get a bit complex) that includes opinions which I may hate. However I am not sure as I have said many times that you can expect the BBC to do this alone, there has to be a commitment from society as a whole to free speech. Maybe this will encourage that to happen. I wont hold my breath though.

Privately, yes.Tweeting to the world, no.

No I don't mean I would abolish impartialityin terms of their ethos Maizie, sorry Maizie, I mean I would abolish a requirement that they have to be impartial in their private speech.

FannyCornforth

growstuff

Anyway, Larry the cat has tweeted that he's refusing the BBC's offer to present MotD.

It’ll have to go to Dilyn then.
I hear he’s got contacts high up in the Beeb…

You mean the ones who have £800,000 to spare?

That was my fault for not being clear and then being snappy

Galaxy I’m thinking of LBC which always had / has a commitment to freedom of speech.
But it recently booted out Steve Allen due to his misgendering of the ever ridiculous Sam Smith.
Prior to that it got rid of Maajid Nawaz as he was antivax adjacent.
And going further back it got rid of Nigel Farage and Katie Hopkins.
For being, well, Farage and Hopkins.
Hopkins was due to a tweet - she used the words ‘final solution’ in regards to immigration.

It really is a thorny issue.
I admire your personal commitment to it Galaxy, and also your thought provoking posts about it

Growstuff that’s the one!
You can get a heck of a lot of ‘Lily’s
Kitchen Campfire Stew’ for £800,000!

In 2018, the BBC wrote, "Gary is not involved in any news or political output for the BBC, and as such, any expression of his personal political views, does not affect the BBC's impartiality."

What changed?

5 years? His contract? The fact that he’s now big on tv?

Perfect response from Gary. He’s gone to watch Leicester play this afternoon.

The boss of BBC changed to one allied with BJ and susceptible to pressure.

Alex Scott has refused to present Football Focus today, so they are replacing it with Bargain Hunt 🙄

Hmm ... it's a puzzle.

Lineker was big in 2018.

Forsythia

He has hosted two individuals. No more than that. It’s just a programme. Funnily enough, football isn’t the be all and end all of everybody’s lives.

You must be joking! I'm no fan of football at all but I've known grown men cry because their team has lost. I'm not sympathetic and I don't understand it but, nevertheless, for many football fans it is the be all and end all of their lives (after partners children and pets)

Oreo

5 years? His contract? The fact that he’s now big on tv?

How does that alter the principle?

He's still not involved in 'news' and is not a BBC political pundit.

Whitewavemark2

“The blunder the BBC is making is believing it can appease the Right. It can't - the Right wants the BBC to fail and always has. But by trying to appease the Right uthe BBC is alienating the Centre and the Left who once wanted it to thrive. And is signing its own death warrant.”

I agree with you. The Beeb's attempts at impartiality meant that we had to put up with the likes of Mark Francois and Nigel Farage on all the political programmes. By May 2019 Farage had appeared on Question Time on 33 episodes. More than most.

I'm not even convinced what he posted was political. Surely it is a human being issue rather than political. I am uncomfortable with the language that is used to describe people. Language IS important.