The BBC called Lineker correctly, but that was their mess

Boris Johnson reportedly once said that the reason he switched from journalism to politics was because “no one ever put up a statue to a journalist”.

The revelation of his Churchill complex narcissism shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. But has he never noticed the magnificent statue in front of the BBC Broadcasting House – of former BBC journalist George Orwell?

The inscription reads: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” A message that is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it.

The Conservative government and its media cheerleaders didn’t want to hear Gary Lineker’s views on Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s illegal migrant law.

In fact, many of them didn’t think he should be able to express them.

Braverman expressed disappointment at the former footballer’s disapproval of her “immeasurably cruel” policies, a view echoed by Number 10.

Her Cabinet mate Penny Mordaunt swooped in from the shipping box while Tory backbenchers happily embraced another culture war.

It could and should have been one of those rows that quickly dissolved.

After all, how could tweets from a match-of-the-day moderator be more important than the EU and UNHCR condemning the new policy as illegal? But as the government, MPs and some newspapers kept it going, the BBC panicked and temporarily took Lineker off the air.

Tim Davie, the general manager, has now reversed that decision – and he was right.

But this should be a learning moment for the BBC and the Tories who have been pressuring them – they should never give in to extremism or assume they will win the culture wars.

Her argument was that he violated social media guidelines. Impartiality was seemingly threatened by Lineker’s factual statement that the UK was taking in fewer refugees than other European countries, and expressing a view shared by many of us that the language surrounding the debate was reminiscent of 1930s Germany years remembered.

But inconsistencies in their position quickly became apparent.

People who had complained about numbers as different as Alan Sugar, Chris Packham and Andrew Neil released the replies they got from the BBC complaints department, essentially saying viewers would be able to choose between which to distinguish what they say when presenting their BBC programs and what they say said on Twitter.

In fact, this approach had previously been applied to Lineker.

The BBC initially argued that this time he was dealing with a highly controversial and “partisan” issue.

Still, I couldn’t help but recall the time he popped up for the People’s Vote campaign for a second referendum, an event that was being broadcast live on Sky News.

Politically, issues are not much more controversial than Brexit. But there was not a peep from his BBC masters.

Why was this case initially treated differently? Here are a few options.

First, because it goes several years into a concerted campaign by the Tory right to undermine the BBC.

Second, because BBC chairman Richard Sharp is a committed Tory, a donor, a former boss of Rishi Sunak and helped Boris Johnson in his attempts to get a big loan to fund his lifestyle.

Third, because Robbie Gibb is on the board and, to quote former presenter Emily Maitlis, he is a “Tory agent within the BBC”. Fourth, because some newspapers kept the frenzy going.

Director General Tim Davie is trying to navigate the BBC through an ongoing political onslaught at a time when the media landscape is changing so rapidly. But this is only possible if you stick to clear principles. The lack of them was revealed.

If Lineker was fined for what he said, then how can Karen Brady be a presenter alongside Alan Sugar on The Apprentice while also emerging as a Tory peer in the Lords to vote for the very same legislation that Lineker objects to raised?

How can Sugar urge his followers to vote either way, let alone mock a photo of Jeremy Corbyn in a car with Adolf Hitler?

Will science moderator Brian Cox be pulled out of the air because he so consistently conjures up the failures of Brexit? Will David Attenborough’s climate activism be curbed?

And if you’ve made it to the logical conclusion, is Line of Duty star Martin Compston being declared BBC persona non grata for his support of Scottish independence?

The BBC has now done the right thing and admitted they did it wrong.

But that was a mess of their own making, with the Principles spiraling out of control thanks to the impact of Boris Johnson’s corruption on the state apparatus.

It is the Tories at the head of the Beeb who must leave the building, not Lineker and his colleagues who walked out in great spirit.

Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact us by email at jess.austin@metro.co.uk.

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