Gary Lineker, one of the BBC’s most prominent sports anchors, has been reinstated after being suspended for a tweet that compared the UK government’s language on immigration policy to that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
The BBC said that Mr. Lineker would return to present “Match of the Day” on Saturday, following a week-long suspension that sparked a staff revolt and debate over free speech and political pressure at the broadcaster.
The corporation’s Director General, Tim Davie, said the BBC would open an independent review into its social media guidelines, which had been criticised for being ambiguous and inconsistently enforced.
There have been calls for BBC Chairman Richard Sharp to resign due to concerns about his links to the Conservative Party, and the organisation’s governance. The dispute over Mr. Lineker has brought attention to the political element of the BBC’s governance.
The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said the issue was a matter for Mr. Lineker and the BBC. Some have criticised Mr. Davie’s handling of the affair, and while he denied that the broadcaster had capitulated to public pressure to reinstate Mr. Lineker, some Conservatives disagree.
The situation has also brought to light the complex issue of drafting social media guidelines that satisfy everyone, given pressure from outsiders who want everyone with ties to the broadcaster to abide by the same restrictions on political speech as those who work in the BBC’s news department.
