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Gary Lineker called the allegations that he called northern voters "racist bigots" "outrageous and dangerously provocative." The recently reinstated Match Of The Day presenter took to Twitter again in response to comments from Tory MP Jonathan Gullis. During an interview with Channel 4 News, Gullis said he didn't mind upsetting 'Twitterati' members.
Speaking about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's recent small boat legislation, he said: '(It's) certainly difficult and upsets all the right people in the right places as far as I'm concerned.
“Let's be clear, when I talk about upsetting people, I mean the Twitterati, the North Islington Wokerati, those champagne socialists who pontificate all day.
"These are the people I don't mind upsetting, because these are the people who want to call people here racist fanatics, Nazis, like Gary Lineker did."
In response to the clip, another Twitter user wrote: "I don't think Gary Lineker directly called Red Wall voters 'Nazis' Mr Gullis."
Lineker also responded, writing: “No it didn't and never would. It's outrageous and dangerously provocative.
It comes after BBC Director General Tim Davie announced that Lineker would return to present Match Of The Day on Saturday.
Davie has apologized for the recent line of impartiality, prompted by one of the host's earlier tweets, and announced a review of the broadcaster's social media guidelines.
Lineker will "adhere to editorial guidelines" until a review of the BBC's social media policy is complete, Davie said.
The dispute erupted after Lineker was taken off the air for a tweet comparing the language used to launch a new government policy on asylum seekers to that of 1930s Germany.
He was then told to "get out" of the popular football recap show, prompting a boycott by other MOTD pundits and commentators.
The Pennsylvania news agency understands that earlier on Tuesday, BBC staff were invited to lunch in Salford so that Mr Davie and chief content officer Charlotte Moore could "hear from staff, answer questions and reflect on the events of the last days".
Meanwhile, Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes also told a meeting of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that last week had been a "really difficult episode for the BBC" but that she hoped "they could find the way". .
Since the fight, Lineker has changed his Twitter profile picture to a picture of himself next to a George Orwell quote, which is written on the wall outside the BBC.
"If freedom means anything, it means the right to tell people what they don't want to hear," the quote reads.
PA wire
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