BBC fury at Gary Lineker as pundit is branded ‘Tucker Carlson’ of the UK
Left wing Gary Lineker has been slammed by a colleague who said he’s the “Tucker Carlson of the UK” and that BBC staff are “sick” of the presenter’s behaviour.
Furious BBC colleagues expressed their anger at Match of the Day host Lineker, 63, who taunted Grant Shapps and offered to help Tory MP Lee Anderson get a job with Walker’s Crisps.
Tucker Carlson is a right-wing US broadcaster known for his controversial views, particularly surrounding immigration and politics, and was sacked by Fox in the aftermath of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit after they sued the broadcaster for $1.6billion for pushing President Trump’s election fraud claims.
One BBC presenter said told The Times: “People are sick of it.”
READ MORE: Gary Lineker must ‘leave BBC’ as Jeremy Clarkson hits out in neutrality row
“He doesn’t care that the BBC has more important things to deal with. Personal brands count for so much more now. He’s the Tucker Carlson of the UK. Both are making money out of the gullible.”
Another BBC insider said: “He had the freedom to express his passionately held views. All he was asked was not to attack other people — not least those who have been elected to express their opinions. He is tweaking the tail all the time.”
They added that “people are frustrated” and saying it’s making the organisation “look daft”.
Lineker shared a collage of four images of Mr Shapps all captioned with a different name on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
It came after Defence Secretary Shapps questioned whether the BBC star should be expressing political views.
Former England striker Lineker also hit out at Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis, who accused Lineker of breaching the BBC’s impartiality rules.
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He wrote: “Jonathan hasn’t read the new guidelines… or, should I say, had someone read them to him?”
His criticism of the Conservative Party did not stop there.
The pundit also snapped back at Tory party deputy chairman Lee Anderson called Lineker an “overpaid crisp salesmen” saying that he’d help him get a job with Walker’s Crisps if he loses his seat.
He said: “I guess we’ll find out what the will of the British people is at the next general election.
“If you do end up out of work, I’ll put in a word for you with Walkers Crisps.”
The former footballer also signed an open letter calling for Rishi Sunak’s Government to scrap its Rwanda scheme.
The incoming BBC chairman Samir Shah told MPs that he thought the Match of the Day star’s social media post “on the face of it” breached impartiality guidelines.
Mr Shah said: “I don’t think it was very helpful either for Gary Lineker or the BBC or the cause he supports because it becomes a story about Gary Linker and the BBC.
“As far as I’m aware, the signing of the letter did not breach those guidelines.
“But the more recent tweet in which he identifies a politician does, on the face of it, seem to breach those guidelines.
“I’m not sure how egregious it is but I imagine the BBC is looking into it and considering its response.”
Express.co.uk has approached the BBC for comment.
A BBC spokesperson said previously: “We aren’t going to comment on individuals or indeed individual tweets.
“While the guidance does allow people to talk about issues that matter to them, it is also clear that individuals should be civil and not call into question anyone’s character.
“We discuss issues that arise with presenters as necessary.”
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