Foot in mouth

"Just 20 minutes of shameful, joyless TV." This was one reviewer's verdict of Saturday night's Match of the Day, the BBC's weekend football review show. For the first time ever, it had no music, no presenters and no commentary at all.

It all started last Monday, when UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and home secretaryIn Britain, they are responsible for national security, immigration and policing. Suella Braverman launched a new policy. The Illegal Migration Bill will ban people who arrive in the UK illicitlyIn a way not allowed by law or other rules. on small boats from applying to remain in the country. The government claims this will both cut immigration numbers and stop human traffickingThe recruitment, transportation or trade of humans for forced labour or sexual exploitation. .

The bill proved controversial. The UNUnited Nations. An intergovernmental organisation based in New York that aims to maintain international peace and security. claimed that it will "extinguish" human rights law. Braverman herself admitted it was "more than 50%" likely to be illegal.¹ Many people who arrive on boats are refugees fleeing conflict abroad. The UK plans would deny them asylumWhen a state agrees to shelter somebody who is fleeing dangerous circumstances. The right to asylum is protected in international law by the 1951 Refugee Convention.. Refugee Council executive Enver Solomon called it "performative cruelty at its worst". 

Match of the Day and former footballer host Gary Lineker quickly waded in. He tweeted: "Good heavens, this is beyond awful." When a user attacked him, he doubled down: "This is just an immeasurablyIn a way so large it cannot be measured. cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s."

A reaction came thick and fast. Politicians were upset by Lineker's comparisons to Nazi Germany, a regime that committed genocideThe annihilation of a people, either through killing of its members, or through the suppression of its culture. and curtailed basic freedoms. ToryA member of the Conservative party.  MP Bill Cash called it "an extraordinary and outrageous slurAn allegation that will harm someone's reputation. ".

Some have called for Lineker to resign. Lineker works for the BBC, a publicly funded organisation.² As a result, its news coverage has strict impartialityEqual treatment of all sides of a debate or argument. guidelines.³

If people think Lineker's views represent the BBC, it makes the BBC look biased, critics say. This could cause problems for the corporation.⁴ Some accuse Lineker of being irresponsible. 

According to the Daily Mail, other BBC staff are "boiling with anger" that he was able to speak his mind. During an interview, news presenter Nick Robinson said: "If you or I said something like this, we would be fired." Lineker should either be banned from airing his views, or cut.

Yet if Lineker was dropped it could generate even more outrage for BBC. Some think that losing his job for criticising the government would only prove Lineker's point.

On Friday, the BBC made a decision. It suspended Lineker for breaching impartiality guidelines. But within minutes, other presenters declared that with Lineker out, they would not host the show. Match of the Day was left to air with no presenters at all.

Critics of the decision point out that Gary Lineker is hugely popular, with more than 10 million social media followers. He has often commented on political events before in a personal capacity.⁵  This frankness is part of his appeal - on Wednesday, he tweeted: "I have never known such love and support in my life".

His defenders note that the impartiality rules apply to BBC's news staff. Lineker is a football pundit. Fellow broadcaster Piers Morgan said: "He's not a news presenter. It shouldn't matter to the BBC's news output what he thinks about the migrant situation". His Twitter account is his own, not the BBC's.

They also argue that Lineker has the right to express himself freely. The British government plans to appoint an official to ensure universities do not restrict free speechThe idea that people can say what they think without any fear of being punished or silenced. . To attack Lineker for speaking out would be rank hypocrisySaying something is bad, but also taking part in it yourself. .

Yes: Cruelty can only be stopped if we talk about it. Lineker has alerted millions of people to a major injustice. That government MPs reacted so dramatically suggests that his comments hit the target.

No: Lineker has worked at the BBC since 1995. The network turned him into a household name. He should be well aware of its rules. And the consequences he - and it - might face if they are not followed.

Or... Freedom of expression is a basic human right. It does not matter whether Lineker is right or wrong on any given issue. What matters is that he has the ability to express his views in the first place.