BBC sports presenter Gary Lineker has sparked a BBC impartiality row after he publicly voiced his thoughts on the government’s asylum policy. In his tweets, he appeared to compare the migrant policy to Nazi Germany, which led to Good Morning Britain guest Andrew Pierce slamming the star and insisting he “stick to football”.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled the government’s new plans to stop migrant boats from crossing the English Channel on Monday.
Speaking at the House of Commons, Braverman stated any asylum seeker, who arrives via an illegal route, will be detained without bail.
The new policy, which has been created to try and stop the increasing number of illegal immigrants, will also see people unable to have British citizenship in the future and be blocked from returning.
Unimpressed with the announcement, the BBC sports commentator took to Twitter to share a video of Braverman unveiling the new policy and posted: “Good heavens, this is beyond awful.”
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Mentioning there were calls for him to be sacked following his remarks, Pierce told the GMB host Lineker has form for breaching the BBC’s impartiality rule.
He swiped: “He’s a footballer commenator, he’s paid a lot of money to commentate on football.
“One and a half million pounds a year, can’t he just stick to it.”
Susanna Reid told Pierce she found it remarkable the papers have decided the “real villain” amid the migrant policy is Lineker.
Pierce continued: “He’s paid a lot of money by the BBC which is all about being independent and impartial.
“He’s done it before, he’s always having a go at the Tory government, he should keep his politics out of it!
“It’s also offensive what he said by the way.”
Since his comments, a BBC spokesman has revealed the commentator will be reminded of his responsibilities.
