The BBC have confirmed that they'll speak to Gary Lineker after the legendary ex-footballer appeared to draw comparisons between the government's new Illegal Migration Bill and Nazi Germany.
Lineker, 62, described the controversial bill - unveiled by home secretary Suella Braverman on Tuesday to a wave of backlash - as "beyond awful" before facing calls to be sacked. After a BBC source told the Daily Mail that the Match of the Day host had 'crossed a line' with his comparison, a spokesperson for the broadcaster made it clear that he'll be "reminded of his responsibilities on social media," per Sky News.
A spokesperson also added: "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."
After Braverman published a video on Twitter which outlined the government's plans to stop migrant boats crossing the Channel, Lineker hit out at the callous announcement which at one point resulted in Braverman being laughed at inside the House of Commons. "Good heavens, this is beyond awful," the former England striker, who houses refugees, wrote.
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Another Twitter user, responding to Lineker's original post, described his comment as "out of order" and claimed that it was "easy to pontificate when it doesn't affect you." The 62-year-old replied: "There is no huge influx [of migrants]. 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?"
Lineker's tweet received more than 21,000 likes, but his comparison was quickly condemned by a number of Tory politicians, who urged the BBC to take action.
In response to his comments, Ms Braverman told BBC Breakfast: "I'm disappointed, obviously. I think it's unhelpful to compare our measures, which are lawful, proportionate and, indeed, compassionate to 1930s Germany.
"I also think that we are on the side of the British people here. It's plain for anyone to see that the British people have had enough of this situation of thousands of people coming here illegally at huge cost to the taxpayer and undermining our laws and, in fact, British generosity."
Conservative party deputy chairman Lee Anderson, who this week became the latest Tory MP to get a show on right-wing television station GB News, bitterly declared on his Twitter account: "This is just another example of how out of touch these overpaid stars are with the voting public. Instead of lecturing, Mr Lineker should stick to reading out the football scores and flogging crisps."
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick also told Times Radio: "My children are the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and I think those sorts of words should not be thrown around lightly.
"Gary Lineker is paid for by the British taxpayer and it's disappointing that he is so far out of step with the British public. They see people dying, literally, in the English Channel at the behest of some of the most evil criminal gangs we see in the world today and they want the Government to take action.
"That's exactly what we intend to do. We're going to stop the boats. We're going to break the business model of these people smugglers and enable us to secure our borders. No-one would expect the Government to do anything other than that."
BBC director-general Tim Davie previously warned staff over their use of social media when he took on the role at the end of 2020, and guidelines around social media use have since been updated. Staff were told they need to follow editorial guidelines and editorial oversight in the same way as when doing BBC content.
