Gary Lineker’s remarks on the terminology used by the government in regards to migrants arriving in the UK sparked widespread outrage.
After the comments, the BBC is said to have talked to the Match of the Day broadcaster, with some sources indicating his career might be jeopardised, while Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been asked to answer on Good Morning Britain and BBC Breakfast.
On Thursday, the ITV morning new programme devolved into a screaming war as two guests supported or criticised Lineker’s remarks.
The footballer-turned-pundit had replied to Braverman’s Twitter video in which she advocated for a new Illegal Migration Law to’stop the boats,’ calling it a ‘immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.’
Terry Christian, a writer, and Dominique Samuels, a broadcaster, had a heated debate on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain.
Christian defended Lineker, claiming that although working for the BBC, he is not a newsreader and that ‘it’s not like he’s going on Match of the Day and saying “Can I just say I fully agree with the government stance on XYZ.”
He even quipped that the BBC should go all in and let Nadine Dorries host MOTD if they pixel out all the international players.
Lineker’s reference to 1930s Germany upset Samuels, who said he was “comparing laws to restrict illegal immigration to people being gassed in chambers.”
Nevertheless, anchor Kate Garraway jumped in and pointed out that Lineker had commented on the terminology that finally led to the Holocaust, rather than comparing the measure to the Holocaust itself.
Between arguments and talking over each other, with Samuels having to ask to speak several times, she argued that the language used in 1930s Germany ‘came with laws’ about what Jewish people were and were not allowed to do, with Christian noting that the government did want to bring in laws with the new planned Bill.
Samuels also stated that individuals with opposing views are labelled as ‘bigots, racists, and transphobes,’ to which Christian responded that he doesn’t even’mind bigots with their prejudiced viewpoints, no matter how foolish,’ since he was arguing for free speech, not whether he was correct.
Lineker was previously judged to have violated the BBC’s impartiality standards with a tweet criticising Liz Truss and the Conservative Party last year.
On Wednesday, the pundit tweeted again, this time targeting “freedom of speech enthusiasts” who, he said, didn’t want to hear the ideas of those who didn’t agree with them.
‘Great to see the freedom of speech champions out in force this morning demanding silence from those with whom they disagree. 👊🏻,’ he wrote.
He subsequently expressed his appreciation for the ‘love and support’ he received from people on social media, writing: ‘I have never known such love and support in my life than I’m getting this morning (England World Cup goals aside, possibly).
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV
Source My Celebrity Life.
