«Breaking News» BBC boss Lord Hall says Gary Lineker can continue to tweet political views

The director-general of the BBC has said Gary Lineker (pictured) can continue to tweet his anti-Brexit views as he is not part of the 'news and current affairs universe'

The director-general of the BBC has said Gary Lineker can continue to tweet his anti-Brexit views as he is not part of the Corporation's 'news and current affairs universe'.

The Match of the Day host, who frequently airs his political opinions on social media, has repeatedly been accused of breaching the BBC's strict guidelines on impartiality.

Lineker even caused a rift amongst former World Cup teammates this month when he called out his 'hero', England legend Peter Shilton, for praising Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg online.

The 58-year-old also told former teammate Chris Waddle to 'stick to football' when he said it would be best if Theresa May left the EU with no deal.

Lord Hall, the boss of the BBC, has now come out in defence of Lineker, who voted Remain and has publicly backed the campaign for a second referendum.

He said that as the face of the BBC's sport coverage, Lineker was not held to the same standard as the corporation's political journalists when it came to impartiality.

Speaking to the Financial Times, he added: 'There are some people that aren't part of the [BBC's] news and current affairs universe where you can afford to take a different view and I would put Gary in that position.' 

Lineker has rebuffed criticism of his outspoken political stance in the past by saying he is a freelancer and so does not have to abide by the BBC guidelines.

In February last year when he was told by a Twitter user that as a BBC employee he should not comment on politics he replied: 'I'm freelance and I'll talk sh** about whatever I like on my twitter feed, thanks.'

Lord Hall (pictured), the boss of the BBC, has now come out in defence of Lineker, who voted Remain and has publicly backed the campaign for a second referendum

Lineker, who is outspoken on social media about Brexit, tweeted Shilton and also fellow England teammate Chris Waddle 

BBC cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew told Lineker he would be sacked if he also spoke publicly about politics in the way the former England striker has done on many occasions 

The BBC's editorial guidelines state staff, presenters and even those who contribute to programmes can affect the corporation's impartiality through their 'external activities', especially if there is a conflict of interest. 

It reads: 'The external activities of staff, presenters and others who contribute to our output can also affect the BBC's reputation for impartiality. 

'A conflict of interest may arise when the external activities of anyone involved in making our content affects the BBC's reputation for integrity, independence and high standards, or may be reasonably perceived to do so.

'There is a danger of conflict of interest in every area of programme or content making.'

Lineker frequently discusses Brexit on his Twitter page, railing against what he said were the dire consequences of a no deal Brexit.

'We're not actually, really, seriously, possibly contemplating a no deal Brexit, are we? Democracy is democracy and all that but there are limits to how much we want to self-harm, surely,' he wrote.

Last month he hosted a Q&A at a 'People's Vote' rally in Westminster attended by 3,000 people and interviewed Boris Johnson's brother Jo, who quit as a minister over Mrs May's handling of Brexit.

Lineker, an outspoken Remainer, appeared at a 'People's Vote' rally last month where he interviewed Jo Johnson (pictured)

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/30/bbc-boss-lord-hall-says-gary-lineker-can-continue-to-tweet-political-views/
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The director-general of the BBC has said Gary Lineker (pictured) can continue to tweet his anti-Brexit views as he is not part of the ‘news and current affairs universe’

The director-general of the BBC has said Gary Lineker can continue to tweet his anti-Brexit views as he is...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca





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