Piers Morgan has staunchly defended Gary Lineker's right to have an opinion in a new Twitter spat with Sarah Vine.
He posted a critique of her Mail On Sunday column, pointing out that it was somewhat hypocritical of her to make a point by comparing Lineker to a dictatorial regime - which was a similar comparison Gary made when criticising the government.
Piers wrote on Twitter: "In her Mail column today, Sarah Vine questions Gary Lineker’s ‘right’ to compare Govt immigration rhetoric to Hitler’s Germany in the 30s… and then herself compares Gary to Vladimir Putin. Free speech dictator comparison censorship rules for thee but not for me!"
She hit back as she replied: "Last time I looked, Piers Morgan my darling, the Daily Mail was not subsidised by the British taxpayer or subject to strict impartiality rules. As I argue in my piece, it’s not what Gary Lineker says, it’s the context in which he says it."
The Mirror has launched a petition to have Gary Lineker reinstated at the BBC and as the host of Match of the Day. Sign it here.
Thus began a game of social media opinion ping pong, with the journalist heavyweights going back and forth for several more tweets.
Piers said: "Last time I looked, @WestminsterWAG my darling, @GaryLineker is not contractually prohibited from tweeting his opinions - because he’s a freelance sports presenter & not a BBC news journalist or even a BBC employee. I’m astounded to see you deny him his right to free speech."
Sarah - ex-wife of Tory MP Michael Gove - replied: "That, my angel, is a technicality, as you are well aware. He is de facto THE face of BBC sport, and his success and influence as a presenter - which is huge - comes from his association with that platform. While he might not technically be bound to respect its boundaries, morally he is. Or should be.
" It’s people like him who abuse their positions of power like this who are the true enemies of free speech."
Piers was horrified, typing back: "WHAT? Lineker’s an ‘enemy of free speech’ for expressing his opinions? Are you on the waccy-baccy, my angel? Sir David Attenborough is a far more significant BBC ‘face’ - are you going to demand HE shut up about climate change?"
Sarah didn't back down, tweeting: "Yes treasure, but sir David (long may he rule over us) doesn’t use such inflammatory language nor is he so clearly a mouthpiece for the Labour Party. And I think climate change is different - it’s a cross party issue that everyone broadly agrees on.
"I‘ve been watching his new series, Wild Isles, by the way. Very good. Did you know baby puffins are called pufflings? Adorable."
Getting the final word in, Piers retorted: "Aahhhhhh, got it… so the truth is you think Lineker’s right to free speech should be denied because you don’t agree with his opinions…"
On Friday BBC bosses asked Gary Lineker, 62, to "step away" from presenting Match Of The Day this week while they hold crisis talks about a tweet he posted comparing the Conservatives' 'Stop Small Boats' policy to language used in Nazi Germany.
The dad-of-four, who works for the BBC as a freelance TV host, said the language in which their proposed policy was set out was "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".
Gary described the government's new Migration Bill as "beyond awful" after it was unveiled by home secretary Suella Braverman on Tuesday - later adding: "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."
His removal triggered a mass walkout of pundits and presenters, throwing the broadcasters's usual weekend sports programming schedule in to disarray.
