Gary Lineker caused chaos when he tweeted his personal feelings on the Conservative government’s new migrant policies.
The Match of the Day (MOTD) broadcaster tweeted his dissatisfaction at the policies after Suella Braverman unveiled additional information on the Illegal Migration Bill, which contains critical features such as promptly arresting anyone entering the UK unlawfully and barring them from seeking asylum.
And he wasn’t the only one. Politicians and media figures such as Robert Peston argued that the measure would be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, and Paloma Faith used a far more direct obscenity in her tweet.
But, Gary’s tweets suggesting that the Tories’ tone was reminiscent of 1930s Nazi Germany prompted the BBC to order him to’step aside’ from MOTD.
Gary, who has hosted the programme since 1999, was instantly backed up by his colleagues, notably Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, who refuse to record it without him.
Since then, Alex Scott and Mark Chapman have refused to film their BBC TV or radio broadcasts.
So is the BBC justified in removing Gary from the air because he tweeted his personal opinions? What are their policies regarding presenters and employees?
What are the social media rules for BBC employees and affiliates?
@andybell2000 on Twitter, claims to have worked in the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit for over a decade, adjudicating on complaints.
As a result, he is quite familiar with examples of BBC-affiliated people falling into trouble.
The major revelation he offered in a long, intelligent post refers to a guideline that appears to be quoted verbatim from the BBC’s handbook.
The passage reads: ‘Where individuals identify themselves as being linked with the BBC, or are programme makers, editorial staff, reporters or presenters primarily associated with the BBC, their public expressions of opinion have the potential to compromise the BBC’s impartiality and to damage its reputation.’
‘This includes the use of social media and writing letters to the press. Opinions expressed on social media are put into the public domain, can be shared and are searchable… The risk is greater where the public expressions of opinion overlap with the area of the individual’s work.’
‘The risk is lower where an individual is expressing views publicly on an unrelated area, for example, a sports or science presenter expressing views on politics or the arts.’
As a sports commentator on politics, Gary Lineker nearly exactly mirrors the example mentioned in the BBC’s own guideline.
Therefore, according to their thinking, this poses a reduced danger to the BBC’s image.
Source My Celebrity Life.
