The DUP MP said, “BBC guidelines on presenters personal use of social media were introduced because of comments from Gary Lineker. Even on the day those were announced they were effectively mocked by the Corporation’s highest presenter who described them as “all very sensible”, in the full knowledge that it was not made clear whether the very comments which prompted them would fall foul of them.
Gary Lineker is paid over £1.3million per year of licence-fee payers money. He appears to have decided that he isn’t willing to make the choice between being a sports presenter and a political commentator. The question is whether the BBC are willing to take any action on that decision. At every level the Corporation needs to decide whether presenters can believe they are bigger than the organisation they work for or act as if that is the case.
The Director General needs to step forward and demonstrate that decisions are taken and enforced by management of the BBC rather than its ‘talent’.