London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Rishi Sunak wades into Gary Lineker row and says 'not everyone will agree'

Rishi Sunak wades into Gary Lineker row and says 'not everyone will agree'

Rishi Sunak has waded into the row surrounding Gary Lineker and says ‘not everyone will agree’ with the Government’s new asylum policy.

The Prime Minister said the Match of the Day storm, and questions about the BBC’s impartiality, is ‘a matter for them, not the Government’.

The controversy, which has involved the broadcaster taking the sports pundit off air, began when Lineker branded the Government’s plans to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel as ‘immeasurably cruel’.

He compared the language used to launch the policy with 1930s Germany.

Pundits and players alike have come out in support of Gary Lineker


Commenting for the first time since the BBC stood Lineker down from Match Of The Day hosting duties, the Prime Minister said he hopes the dispute can be ‘resolved in a timely manner’.

He continued to defend his proposals to permanently ban asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on unauthorised small boats.

In a statement, Mr Sunak said: ‘As Prime Minister, I have to do what I believe is right, respecting that not everyone will always agree. That is why I have been unequivocal in my approach to stopping the boats.

‘Gary Lineker was a great footballer and is a talented presenter. I hope that the current situation between Gary Lineker and the BBC can be resolved in a timely manner, but it is rightly a matter for them, not the Government.

Rishi Sunak has continued to defend his controversial asylum policy


‘While that process is ongoing, it is important that we maintain perspective, particularly given the seriousness of the issue at hand.

‘Forty-five thousand people crossed the channel illegally last year, many of whom have been exploited or trafficked by criminal gangs, putting their lives in danger.

‘We need to break this cycle of misery once and for all and the policy we set out this week I believe aims to do just that.

‘It is not only the fair and moral thing to do, it is also the compassionate thing to do.

‘There are no easy answers to solving this problem, but I believe leadership is about taking the tough decisions to fix problems.

‘I know not everyone will always agree, but I do believe this is fair and right.’

Some of Mr Sunak’s Conservative Party colleagues have been outspoken in their criticism of Lineker, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman previously accusing him of ‘diminishing the unspeakable tragedy’ of the Holocaust.

Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries said the ex-England striker ‘does need to decide… is he a footie presenter or a candidate for the Labour Party?’

But the BBC has faced a backlash from other politicians for telling Lineker to step back from hosting the Saturday edition of the football highlights programme in the row over impartiality.

Sir Keir Starmer said the broadcaster was ‘caving in’ to Tory MPs and was ‘the opposite of impartial’.

Labour MP Jess Phillips told Times Radio: ‘If Gary Lineker had tweeted ‘stop the boats’, he would still be on air tonight.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×