To think this isn’t actually the BBC’s fight?

[notonbodycomparisonsites]

Hear me out… I’m not very politically minded. This is my view as a lay person with unlimited access to the news and the internet…

But my personal opinion is that the BBC shouldn’t be held to task like this, not at this time.

They definitely need to assess their policies on who is allowed to say what and when. But the fact is that a public figure disagreed with the government, and the government didn’t want their actions criticised publicly, so they pulled out the ‘we own the BBC card’ and used BBC policy to attempt to shut the matter up. As far as I’m concerned that seems like a misuse of power, and as much as the BBC need to sort themselves out, I’d rather acknowledge that I’m uncomfortable we even got here to begin with!

For what it’s worth, I don’t actually agree with Gary Lineker’s opinion on the immigration matter and the 1930’s Germany blah blah blah… but I’m still glad I live in a society where I got to hear him say it .

So… AIBU for thinking that we should soon be hearing from the government with a little apology for causing such a major fucking mess?

(Please don’t ask me anything about politics)

Not being a football fan I find the whole football thing completely grandiose and overblown. But I accept its a quasi religion in this and other countries so Im in the minority

I would have rather no one from this country had anything to do with it but people do need to make their own decisions out of their own conscience.

Whether I agree with what he said or did then, and whether I agree with what he said now, isnt really the point because the only issue here is whether he has the right to say something which doesnt slag off his own employer and get to continue his contract with the BBC. I think he is entitled to do that.

We're all flawed and hypocritcal to some extent. Someone doesnt have to be a saint for me to agree with a position or principle in regard to them.

No you are not.
He also wants the country to let in more asylum seekers who are obviously funded by taxes. At the same time he is fighting HMRC over his legitimate tax bill, so despite being a multi millionaire wants to pay less tax.
Whether you agree or disagree with his policies he is certainly a hypocrite.

Gary is entitled to free speech just as the rest of us are entitled not to pay the wages of a mansion dwelling, tax dodging millionaire virtue signaller who will never be affected by uncapped immigration.
The BBC is an outdated concept and nobody should be criminalised because they don't wish to be lectured by the liked GL and his comrades.

"He also wants the country to let in more asylum seekers who are obviously funded by taxes."

Can you show me where he's said that?

And if arguing with HMRC indicates hypocrisy then quite a few MPs are in real trouble.

@StormInaDcup99 not at all, not unreasonable. I just think that GL’s character and the BBC’s shit show of a staff policy are actually quite small issues when I look at the bigger picture. If GL had said “All hail the new policy”, the BBC would have broadcast MOTD as usual. That’s weird, right? Two such unrelated things being manipulated in such a strange way and all we can do is watch.

Is it that he can’t have an opinion? Or that he can’t have a negative opinion? (Ignoring the fact that he actually is allowed to have a public opinion, as kindly proven by a PP…)

I can see your point that of course it's the Tories' fault, as is everything else that's wrong in this country, in my opinion.

But the BBC should not have caved in and should have backed their own people! In trying to LOOK impartial, all they have done is shown they do what they're told by this government, especially with the political affiliations of the chairman and Tim Davie. I think he decided he didn't like Gary Lineker's confidence that he would still be presenting MOTD and he decided to take him down a peg or two to teach him a lesson.

The BBC need to back down now and apologise to Gary Lineker and also David Attenborough. They have made themselves look like hypocrites and lapdogs of the government.

This!

One person should not have so much power.

Gary seems to have forgotten that we are his bosses.

I think this issue around 'uncapped immigration' is a red herring as far as Gary Lineker is concerned. I am not aware he wants to 'open the floodgates'. My understanding is around the rhetoric used by the Government in how they tackle unsustainable immigration. In that he should be free to comment.

He is an intelligent man. Which leaves me with bigger concerns. Why did he decide to shelter his assets and income for seven years in a Barbados company called Goalhanger Inc that also has links to the British Virgin Islands? What sort of tax avoidance has been carried on here? I do not believe his accountants and agent set it up to manage his finances without his full knowledge of what was being done. His lax attitude to IR35, funnelling his profits into a partnership with his wife, indicates to me he wishes to dodge as much tax as he possibly can. He does not have that choice. He is not above the law no matter how popular he is just because he can kick a football well or make comments that delight people.

Tax evasion should be shunned in the same way that drink-driving is regarded or open racism.

Absolutely. Prior to posting I was thinking exactly the same thing, until I asked myself what any other business in the UK would do if the government loomed over them wagging their finger. They would most likely fall in line. Especially of ‘breaching policy’ = instant removal of funding. It almost seems like an abuse of a power dynamic. If the BBC is the manager that shouldn’t have fired the employee, the Tories are the company director that shouldn’t have told them to in the first place. (Again though and as always. I could be totally wrong.)

Oh it’s absolutely ludicrous and I agree wholeheartedly with you, OP.

I’ve no earthly idea how the Beeb fucked this up so spectacularly, especially given it’s not an isolated incident in their contract/dealings etc with Lineker. Bloody ridiculous. As if his criticism of a government policy matters. They should have squashed it and then he’d probably have issued some sort of ‘sorry not sorry’ tweet and everyone could have forgotten about it.

@Hellocatshome thank you for posting this.

The government's apology should be the removal of Boris Johnson's mate as BBC chairman, along with the Director General resigning.

But… I don’t understand. He forgot that; and so opened his mouth and said what he thought? As his boss, I approve of his actions.

How are we Gary's boss? He is freelance he is his own boss and even if we were his boss that does not give us the right to limit his right to free speech.

No we are not Gary's bosses! Don't be so silly. 🙄

The BBC need to back down now, apologise to Gary Lineker and David Attenborough and maybe, just maybe, they will forgive them.

I can see a lot of people deciding NOT to pay their licence fee any more over this issue.

Whichever way you look at it, the BBC stands to lose the most.

@CremeEggThief exactly my point. “This” could have happened at any time due to shit management at the BBC, and I’m all for natural selection. But sadly “this” was instigated by the government insisting that the BBC invokes its policy where it was actually not appropriate to do so. And I feel like the government owes it to the sanctity of the BBC to speak up and say that they should have never put them in this position to begin with, because I’m actually not comfortable watching something so fundamental to my culture (the BBC) be destroyed by some bullshit arsehole’s “fee fees” at no. 10

Essentially what I feel is that in a decade or so, maybe a lot further away, we will look back at a whole lot of insane stuff that happened during this period; but I do not want to look back and resent the tories for destroying the BBC because they had a tantrum and wanted to save face over an experimental policy. Of course people are going to be divided out loud. IT’S AN EXPERIMENTAL POLICY!!!!

Whether you agree or disagree with his policies he is certainly a hypocrite

It doesn't matter. He's still allowed his opinion, as are me or you. Unless your opinion is breaking the law, or you are slating your employer, your personal twitter account should have no bearing on your job. The BBC have acted very badly in this situation, showing that they are the very opposite of impartial.

*This!

One person should not have so much power.

Gary seems to have forgotten that we are his bosses*

Nonsense. This sort of attitude really gets my back up. Even if it were true that we're his bosses (which we are not!), he still gets to have an opinion.

I'm not on twitter and I don't watch MOTD, so this story is largely irrelevant to me. Apparently MOTD had very high viewing figures yesterday anyway.

I think MOTD figures were still high as people were curious to watch and see what it was like.

Also surely even with no interest in twitter or MOTD you should be interested in a public funded organisation attempting to restrict someone's right to free speech.

I don't really care what GL thinks about anything tbh. Not sure why we have to have anyones opinions shoved down our throats. I know what I think about the government plans (I feel very negative about them). I've never been interested in what celebs think.

It would only be 'shoved down your throat' if you follow him on twitter

Do you follow him on twitter?

I don't have twitter at all. But you may have noticed that it's all over the news.

I didnt say you had to be interested in what GL or any other celebrity has to say. Free speech is a right which we shouldn't allow to be eroded away wether it be GL or Joe Blogs on the street.

Quite happy for free speech to be eroded if it means we don't have to listen to celebrities opinions all the bloody time. It is possible to make your own mind up without having to hear ehat Ricky gervaise or Gary Lineker or other rent a gobs think about it.