Gary Lineker, Authoritarianism and Censorship

If the UK Government had set out to underline Gary Lineker’s comparison with Germany in the 1930s it could hardly have done so any better than by leaning on the BBC – albeit indirectly – to remove him (even if that is only temporary) from his position as host of Match of the Day.

It is one of the signatures of an authoritarian government that it tolerates no dissent, no criticism.

Linkeker is not a political journalist, does not appear on political programmes and is, moreover, not a direct employee of the BBC. He appears on other TV channels and his social media posts are quite obviously his own personal opinions and not to be taken as reflective of a BBC stance on anything. Other such BBC presenters have in the past been defended by the corporation on precisely those grounds.

The media frenzy that has been whipped up has been deliberately misconstrued to make it seem as if Lineker has said something objectionable. He has not.

It is a deflection of attention typical of right wing politicians to seize on something a critic has said as being unnaccceptable in order to move the focus of any debate away from the point at issue.

As a matter of fact Lineker did not compare the Government to Nazi Germany. He said the language the Government was employing was similar to that of Germany in the 1930s. And in that he is correct. The government has undoubtedly been using language which demonises people. We know where that leads. There are too many historical instances (not just those in 1930s Germany) of derogatory language acting as a precursor to something much worse.

And how can the BBC be considered impartial anyway when its chairman has donated money to the party in government, facilitated the provision of a loan to a former Conservative Prime Minister and only gained his position precisely because of those links?

It has in any case been obvious for a long while from its political coverage that the letters BBC in fact stand for Bending over Backwards to the Conservatives.

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