Gary Lineker – latest: BBC talks with presenter ‘moving in right direction’ as disruption continues

Satirist Armando Iannucci said the row over impartiality at the BBC will continue until the corporation is kept separate from government.

Mr Iannucci, who created BBC comedy series The Thick of It about the inner workings of life in Westminster, said the current scandal over Gary Lineker’s comments on refugee policy will “keep going” until the state broadcaster is “truly independent of the government of the day”.

Questions have been raised over director general Tim Davie’s relationship to the Tory party – he was formerly deputy chair of a local party branch – and BBC chair Richard Sharp allegedly helped Boris Johnson secure a loan weeks after the former prime minister recommended him for the job.

Conservative MPs expressed their outrage over the “climbdown” which sees Gary Lineker’s return to the BBC without any apology for his attack on the Rishi Sunak government’s small boats crackdown.

Confirming Lineker would return to Match of the Day, director-general Tim Davie said the presenter “will abide by the editorial guidelines” until a review of the corporation’s social media policy is complete.

But furious Tories said it gave Lineker “carte blanche” to say what he wanted following his brief suspension for a tweet comparing the language used to launch a Rishi Sunak’s asylum bill to that of 1930s Nazi Germany.

Craig MacKinlay, MP for South Thanet, told The Independent: “The BBC climbdown with an apology and carte blanche to do as he pleases on social media is remarkable.”

He added: “His eight million Twitter following is on the back of his ongoing celebrity due to his BBC contract – he can now seemingly push his highly political anti-government agenda and cause offence to many with impunity. I know of no other employer who would permit this.”

Read the full story below from our political correspondent, Adam Forrest:

Former BBC news executive Sir Craig Oliver said asking Gary Lineker to return as host of Match Of The Day was a “capitulation” by the corporation.

Sir Craig, who was later the Downing Street communications chief when David Cameron was prime minister, also told BBC News: “I think what's happened here is Gary Lineker 1 - BBC credibility nil.

“The reality is the BBC today has announced it will have a review of its social media guidelines. In fact, it needs a review of how it handles crisis like these.”

Sir Craig said the corporation has been in a position where it was “slow to react”, made the “wrong choice” when it asked Lineker to step back from his presenting role, which led to other BBC sports staff refusing to do their shows and "chaos" in the programming schedule before reversing course.

“I think it's a total mess,” he added.

The ex-controller of English news at BBC Global News also said the BBC is “always going to be a political football in British politics” and needs to “stand up and be clear”.

Following the news that the former England footballer will return to his role at the BBC, ex-presenter Dan Walker and former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville were among those appearing to poke fun at the BBC's U-turn.

“Unnecessary fixture decided by an own goal,” Walker tweeted.

Sky Sports pundit Neville was amused by the fact BBC director-general Tim Davie had apologised to Lineker, tweeting the word “apology” with two laughing emojis.

Current MOTD commentator Conor McNamara, who was one of a number of BBC Sports pundits to pull out of their regular presenting roles over the weekend in solidarity with Lineker, tweeted: “Now... can we go back to arguing about VAR?”

Fellow MOTD presenter Steve Wilson also shared his response to the resolution, tweeting: “So delighted that there's a resolution.

“I can now get on with prep for games this week which include trips to Molineux and Bramall Lane for the BBC."

Elsewhere on social media, Lineker's eldest son, George, tweeted a goat emoji - often used to signify G.O.A.T, meaning Greatest Of All Time for sportspeople - in response to the news that his father would be returning to his BBC presenting duties.

Comedians Nish Kumar and Dara O Briain shared their thoughts, with Kumar tweeting: “One of the best things about the end of the Match Of The Day saga, is that we don't have to listen to various Tory MP's talk about football. It's been like listening to a dog describe chess.”

Former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said the BBC licence fee is “past its sell-by date” after the row with Gary Lineker.

The former cabinet minister insisted the corporation’s funding model was the crux of the problem.

“The issue is about the BBC rather than about Gary Lineker’s view,” he told GB News.

“He’s entitled to any view that he wants. We are all in favour of freedom of speech and people being allowed to say things that we don’t agree with, or may even find offensive. And that’s absolutely fine.

“The issue is that the BBC is the state broadcaster, and that it’s funded by a tax on televisions. If it weren’t, then we wouldn’t need to worry about its impartiality and actually if we changed the funding mechanism of the BBC, we could have a much freer media, as they do in the United States, when people are allowed to say what they think.

“And I think that would be much better, rather than this pretence that the BBC is impartial, which it isn’t, and then having rows about particular presenters’ views.”

Asked if he was calling for the licence fee to be axed, Mr Rees-Mogg said he had long considered it a “constraint on the BBC” as it stops it earning from revenues or taking advertising.

“It leads to a heavily-regulated media based around what the BBC needs and what is needed for a state-funded channel,” he said. “And so yes, I’m saying the licence fee is past its sell-by date, it needs to go.”

The corporation confirmed Lineker’s reinstatement to Match of the Day on Monday morning after the former England striker was told to step back from hosting the show on Friday in a row over impartiality.

Lineker had been due to present the City v Burnley tie on Saturday evening prior to Friday, and a BBC Sport spokesperson confirmed Lineker would front the coverage as originally planned.

Mark Chapman is due to host the Match of the Day highlights show later on Saturday night, the BBC said.

The wider presenting line-up is yet to be confirmed, with many of Lineker’s BBC Sport colleagues walking out in “solidarity” at the weekend.

Read the full story by our reporter, Jamie Gardner, below:

A Downing Street spokesman declined to say whether the prime minister has confidence in Tim Davie following the Gary Lineker row, stressing that the choice of BBC director-general was a matter for the corporation.

“The director-general is appointed by the BBC and it's a matter for them.”

“I'm simply pointing to the fact that he's appointed by the BBC and it's a matter for them,” the spokesman said when pressed by reporters.

Asked about the prime minister's position on the licence fee, the spokesman said: “We remain committed to the licence fee for the rest of the current charter. But we've been clear that the BBC's funding model faces major challenges due to changes in the way people consume media.

“And it's necessary to look at ways to ensure long-term sustainability.”