Gary Lineker could be sacked over ‘Nazi’ small boats tweet, warns ex-BBC editorial chief

Director-general will have to fire star unless ‘this is the end of it’, says former editorial boss

The BBC may have to sack Gary Lineker for comparing the Tory small boats plan to Nazi Germany, a senior media figure has warned.

Richard Ayre, the BBC’s former controller of editorial policy, said the corporation’s director general could dismiss the Match of the Day star over his Twitter commentary.

Lineker has faced condemnation by No 10, Tory ministers and MPs after comparing the Illegal Migration Bill with 1930s Germany.

Asked whether director general Tim Davie could have to “let him go”, Mr Ayre told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think he is going to have any choice but to let him go unless he can be certain that this is the end of it.”

The former BBC trustee also suggested chairman Richard Sharp may have to do, when asked also about a separate inquiry into allegations of cronyism in his appointment over links to Boris Johnson.

He said: “It is quite likely that within the next few days or weeks, we’ll perhaps see two heads roll – one from the left and one from the right, the chairman and Gary Lineker.”

Mr Ayre added: “And then maybe once each side has scored a goal, we can get back to normal business.”

Following the criticism on Wednesday, Lineker said he would “continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice”.

Lineker said he stood by tweets on Thursday, revealing he had spoken to the director general about the matter. Asked if he regretted sending the tweet about small boats, he said “No” and said he “of course” stood by it.

It comes as Piers Morgan defended the star’s criticism of the UK government’s new asylum policy, arguing that the Match Of The Day host is “not a news reporter”.

The Talk TV host said the remarks were “clearly incendiary” but that his opinions “should not matter to the BBC’s news output”.

He added: “If Lineker was cheering the government for getting to grips with the migrant crisis, the very people now demanding he be fired would be wanting him to get a statue in Trafalgar Square.”

Lineker, 62, has faced criticism from Downing Street and the Home Office after comparing the language used to launch the policy with 1930s Germany.

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said she disagreed with the presenter’s comments – but said he was entitled to speak out. “People who feel strongly should be able to speak out and say the things that they feel,” she said.

Culture secretary Lucy Frazer on Thursday told MPs that she is “pleased” the BBC was going to warn Lineker about his tweets.

Labour is “borrowing from the Gary Lineker playbook” in its criticism of the government’s small boats strategy, Commons leader Penny Mordaunt told MPs.

“Labour are borrowing from the Gary Lineker playbook. They are a party of goal hangers and the occasional left-wing striker, hanging around the goal mouth, poised to seize any opportunities and to take an easy shot.”

Earlier, BBC director-general Tim Davie told the BBC he had not spoken to Lineker, before being asked about how many “strikes” he has had on impartiality and social media.

Mr Davie said: “I wouldn’t talk specifically about individuals; I don’t think it’s right. I think the BBC absolutely puts the highest value on impartiality and that’s clearly important to us.”