Strikes: Over 1,000 local BBC TV and radio journalists begin 24-hour walkout over proposed cuts to service March 15, 2023 BBC services face disruption as staff begin a 24-hour strike in protest against proposed cuts to the broadcaster’s local radio output. Around 1,000 journalists are expected to walk out on Wednesday, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers his Spring Budget, prompting changes to the local TV and radio schedule in England. Around 25 journalists left Broadcasting [...]
Gary Lineker scolds Tory MP over claim BBC host called northern voters ‘racist bigots and Nazis’ March 15, 2023 Gary Lineker has described accusations that he called northern voters “racist bigots” as “outrageous and dangerously provocative”. The recently reinstated Match Of The Day host took to Twitter once again in response to comments made by Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis. During an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Gullis said he was not concerned with [...]
Elon Musk: Gary Lineker takes aim at Twitter boss after son gets threatening messages March 14, 2023 Gary Lineker has questioned Twitter owner Elon Musk after a threatening message was sent to his son in the wake of the sports presenter’s row with the BBC. The former footballer, who was reinstated as host of Match Of The Day (MOTD) on Monday, re-shared a private message which said his eldest son, George, should [...]
Gary Lineker to return as host of Match of the Day: BBC apologises for ‘confusion by grey areas’ March 13, 2023 Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker will continue as a BBC presenter after the corporation apologised for a “difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters, and most importantly, our audiences”. A host of sports presenters and pundits pulled out of BBC shows at the weekend after the former England striker was told to step back [...]
Gary Lineker row: Now George Osborne weighs in on Tory immigration rhetoric March 12, 2023 Support has poured in for Gary Lineker following his suspension from the BBC amid an ongoing row over the government’s policy on stopping small boats crossing the Channel. Football pundit Lineker was pulled off air last week after tweeting about the UK’s asylum policy following the announcement of the new Illegal Migration Bill by Suella [...]
Does the BBC’s Gary Lineker row show that the government has a problem with football? March 12, 2023 The weather forecast finished and then suddenly there it was: the BBC’s hurried replacement for Match of the Day following its spectacular bungling of the Gary Lineker row. Shorn of its theme tune, opening title, studio, presenter, pundits, commentators and about an hour of running time, this was bleak and surreal; a sort of post-apocalyptic [...]
Former BBC sports commentator John Motson dies, aged 77 February 23, 2023 John Motson, the former BBC commentator who became one of the most recognisable voices in sports broadcasting, has died aged 77. Known affectionately as “Motty”, he combined an encyclopaedic knowledge of football with a palpable love for the sport that was reflected in his work. Motson, who also became synonymous with his trademark sheepskin coat, [...]
Watch: BBC chair Richard Sharp must ‘fall on his sword’ and quit honourably, veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby says February 14, 2023 Richard Sharp is facing growing calls to “fall on his sword” and resign as BBC chairman over the cronyism row caused by him helping Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan facility. Rishi Sunak was standing by the embattled former banker despite a highly-critical cross-party report by MPs finding Sharp chairman made “significant errors of judgment”. [...]
BBC ‘fully co-operating’ as offices raided by India tax officials after documentary on PM Narendra Modi February 14, 2023 Officials from India’s Income Tax department began conducting searches on Tuesday at the BBC’s offices in the capital, New Delhi. It comes weeks after the British broadcaster released a controversial documentary that examined prime minister Narendra Modi’s role during 2002 anti-Muslim riots. Teams from the tax department surveyed the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices, the [...]
Sharp under pressure to quit BBC after report finds ‘significant errors’ over Johnson loan February 12, 2023 BBC chairman Richard Sharp has been told that his position is “increasingly untenable” today after a report found that “significant errors of judgement” were made in helping to arrange an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson while Sharp was applying for the top job at the BBC. Ex-JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs banker Sharp, who [...]