Gary Lineker, BBC and Freedom of Speech - **Read OP**

Why do people think that this is the first time that a British government has interfered with the BBC ?

Jaysus look at the history of where BBC chairman & board, which were/are political appointments, have wrapped the knuckles of director generals over coverage.

Labour's old Harold Wilson tried it on back in the late 60s over an interview he didn't like.

Thatcher had Jacob Rees-Mogg's daddy as vice-chairman and was after BBC over Northern Ireland and Falklands coverage

Blair and director general Greg Dyke fell out over Iraq war coverage.

It ended up with the board being replaced by a Trust but that showed how incompetent they were over the handling of the Panorama Jimmy Saville affair.

This isn't anything new.

We don't have a single party government here though - we have a three way coalition.

If he had just one party in power, acting like a dictatorship and pushing through hugely controversial and provocative legislation (as the Tory Brexiteers are doing), I would imagine the atmosphere in the country and the media would be very different.

FG and FF are broadly similar. The Greens go along with them as long as they are allowed to implement a couple of policies that almost no one is in favour of. So, I think we actually have less choice than the brits, they have two options, we have one option essentially. SF are trying to be a different option but we can’t know until they get power.

RTE and other mainstream media has been developed for decades as a propaganda resource for the government.

Why is Lineker so outspoken on Twitter in recent years, there could be an alterior motive involved due to his legal case with the taxman.

Lineker’s Twitter account was part of the case that he was not a traditional employee bound by traditional rules.

Lineker argued that he is not subject to the same level of control as BBC employees given his apparent freedom to express personal and political views on social media.

That avenue of defence is now gone, wouldnt be surprised if The Conservatives said enough is enough and we will hurt this guy where it hits him most.

BBC have made a mess of the issue but Lineker is marked now.

To be fair it was one of the better MOTD's that I have seen!

No over analysis on what he could or should have done.

Well done to the BBC.

Many tuned in to see how it would work, and it was boring as hell, if done again next week figures will be zero

Nail on head 👍🏻

Oh its shocking alright.

More than 45,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Britain by boat in 2022, up from 28,000 in 2021, according to UK statistics.

Think about those numbers.

539 refugees and migrants are documented to have "tried to reach Britain on small boats" in 2018.

During the course of 2019, almost 1,900 had made the crossing by the end of the year.

By the end of 2020, about 635 boats had crossed the Channel, carrying 8,438 people

28,000 in 2021.

45,000 in 2022.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Channel_migrant_crossings_(2018%E2%80%93present)

If UK had done the right thing and arrested, interred and exiled the 539 in 2018 to an offshore territory*, a foreign destination such as Rwanda or even just a highland prison camp, 57 lives would have been saved.

*thanks to the cunning use of flags they have plenty.

I suggest, 1930ies Germany is a reference to Germany from 1933 onward, not the early parts of the 1930ies.

I think the problem is from both sides.

Gary Lineker is freelance, not a permanent employee by the BBC, nor is his role in working for the BBC political or reporting on political matters. It was football and the Match of the Day. So Gary was perfectly in line with rules to say what he believed in.

The BBC has the problem that they have a boss who is close to the conservatives.

Oddly, Sunak and Braverman have an immigrant background themselves.

And even worse, if the UK was actually part of the EU they could send them legally back to France, as per EU regulations. With Brexit and their idea of limiting immigration and illegal immigration they have issues in doing so.

The fundamental problem is Brexit, not one or more peoples different opinion and voicing them.

At the same time, I don't think that the UK is anywhere near 1930ies Germany.

Nobody knocking in your door at 3am in the morning taking you to Gestapo headquarter to be interrogated or "made to talk" about whatever...

That would be 1930ies Germany.

It's not funded by the state. Licence fees and advertising. They do control the amount of the licence fee though afaik.