She tweeted: 'It is undermining free speech in the face of political pressure - & it does always seem to be rightwing pressure it caves to.'īut Conservative MP Nadine Dorries welcomed the move. Several Labour MPs have spoken out against the decision, with shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell tweeting: 'This feels like an over reaction brought on by a right-wing media frenzy obsessed with undermining the BBC.'įormer Conservative MP Anna Soubry called the BBC a 'disgrace' claiming they've 'capitulated to a small but noisy, right wing mob led by Govt'.įirst Minister Nicola Sturgeon was equally critical, saying the decision to remove Mr Lineker is 'indefensible'. “Tory politicians lobbying to get people sacked for disagreeing with government policies should be laughed at, not pandered to. The move has been condemned by Labour, with a party source saying: “The BBC’s cowardly decision to take Gary Lineker off air is an assault on free speech in the face of political pressure. However, a source close to the presenter told Sky News that the corporation has taken him off air, as he is unwilling to apologise and admit he should not have made the comments. The BBC said in a statement on Friday evening that the football pundit will 'step back' from presenting until an agreement is reached on his social media use, after he was embroiled in a row over impartiality by comparing the language used to launch a new government asylum policy with 1930s Germany.

The BBC's decision to take Gary Lineker off Match of The Day is drawing a strong reaction from politicians.

Play spy fox games