Gary Lineker to be ‘spoken to’ after comparing UK asylum policy to 1930s Germany

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker will be “spoken to” after he tweeted critically about the government’s asylum policy, the BBC has said.

Writing on Twitter, the ex-footballer said the language in which the plans had been set out was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”.

Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson said Mr Lineker was “out of touch” and should stick to football.

A BBC spokesperson said the star would be “reminded of his responsibilities”.

On Tuesday, the government outlined plans to effectively ban anyone arriving in the UK via an illegal route from claiming asylum.

Anyone found to have entered the country illegally will also be blocked from returning or claiming British citizenship in future.

The measure is part of attempts to address an increase in the number of people arriving in the UK via Channel crossings each year, which rose from around 300 in 2018 to more than 45,000 in 2022.

Responding to a video message setting out the policy by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Mr Lineker, 62, tweeted: “Good heavens, this is beyond awful.”

Told by another user he was “out of order”, he added: “We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.

“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”

It is not clear which language in particular Mr Lineker was referring to, but Ms Braverman’s video and accompanying tweet included the words “enough is enough” and “we must stop the boats”.

Mr Lineker, who has presented Match of the Day since 1999, has in the past been vocal about migrants’ rights and has taken refugees into his home.

He has also been critical of successive Conservative governments over issues including Brexit.

In October, the BBC’s complaints unit found Mr Lineker had broken impartiality rules in a tweet asking whether the Conservative Party planned to “hand back their donations from Russian donors”.

The comment came after then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urged Premier League teams to boycott the Champions League final in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

In 2018, after BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew called on him to “keep your political views… to yourself”, Mr Lineker responded: “I’m the face of my own Twitter account. I’ll continue to tweet what I like and if folk disagree with me then so be it.”

The BBC’s editorial guidelines state that the organisation is “committed to achieving due impartiality in all its output” and that “public comments, for example on social media, of staff [or] presenters… can affect perceptions of the BBC’s impartiality”.

Writing on Twitter following Mr Lineker’s comments on Tuesday, Mr Anderson said the presenter had “piped up again with his virtue-signalling nonsense”.

“This is just another example of how out of touch these overpaid stars are with the voting public,” he said. “Instead of lecturing, Mr Lineker should stick to reading out the football scores and flogging crisps.”

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay said Mr Lineker’s comments were “foul, ill-conceived and disgraceful” and called on the BBC to sack him.

A spokesperson for the corporation said: “The BBC has social media guidance, which is published. Individuals who work for us are aware of their responsibilities relating to social media. We have appropriate internal processes in place if required.

“We would expect Gary to be spoken to and reminded of his responsibilities.”

The corporation has also responded to previous criticism of Mr Lineker by highlighting that he is not involved in its news or political output and is a freelance broadcaster, not a member of staff.