BBC urged to part ways with ‘insolent’ Gary Lineker
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The BBC must show who is in charge by parting ways with “insolent” Gary Lineker, a former executive has said.
Lineker is “running rings around the BBC” with his social media posts and “it is both offensive and embarrassing to see”, according to Danny Cohen.
Mr Cohen, the BBC’s former director of television, said that Match of the Day would be “completely fine” without Lineker because people tune in for the Premier League highlights, not the analysis.
He said there was a lot to be gained from letting Lineker go because it would restore public confidence that BBC management is in charge.
Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Cohen urged Tim Davie to follow the example set by Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager.
“If there were any signs that a player believed he was bigger than the club, Ferguson would quickly show him the door, even when it came to players of the world-class quality of David Beckham and Roy Keane,” he said.
“At the moment, Mr Lineker is behaving as if he is much bigger than his club - the BBC - with the insolent inference that there is nothing that his manager - the director-general - can or will do to stop him.”
‘Its management looks ever weaker’
Lineker’s tweets to Tory MPs Lee Anderson, Grant Shapps and Jonathan Gullis are “insults more suited to the school playground” and a clear breach of the BBC’s new social media guidelines, Mr Cohen said.
“If the BBC does nothing about it, its management looks ever weaker and ever less in control of the social media output of the people who represent it in the eyes of the public.”
Mr Cohen pointed to a recent social media post in which Mr Lineker shared an interview between “Jeremy Corbyn outrider Owen Jones” and an academic who accused Israel of “genocide”.
While some Jewish employees of the BBC were advised not to attend a march against antisemitism, Mr Cohen said, its most famous presenter was allowed “to encourage his followers to believe that Israel is guilty of genocide”.
BBC under scrutiny
The incoming BBC chairman Samir Shah is expected to be questioned over the Lineker saga by MPs.
Mr Shah will appear at the Commons culture, media and sport select committee on Wednesday morning for a confirmatory hearing after being named as the Government’s choice to lead the broadcaster’s board.
It is understood that MPs are set to raise the issue of Lineker and BBC impartiality as they scrutinise Mr Shah’s suitability for the role.
The chairman is responsible for ensuring the BBC fulfils its duties to provide impartial broadcasting. The confirmatory hearing is part of the vetting process, but MPs cannot block Mr Shah’s appointment.
Mr Shah has been chosen to succeed Richard Sharp, who resigned in April following his connection to an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson.
The television executive, who has contributed to several reports on race relations in Britain, has spoken out previously about prevailing “woke” opinion.
In 2021, he co-authored the Sewell Report which rebuffed claims that the UK is “institutionally racist”.
The choice of Mr Shah has been welcomed by many including Sir Trevor Phillips, his long-time friend and fellow broadcaster.
“I think it’s a very shrewd move by the Government, and a very good move for journalism and the BBC,” he said.
“It stopped understanding the difference between journalism and campaigning. The BBC has been doing its best to destroy itself.”
