London: Director General of the BBC Tim Davey He said he would not resign after the publicly funded broadcaster’s sports service was terminated on Saturday in protest against the removal of Gary Lineker as Match of the Day host.
“Everyone wants to resolve the situation peacefully,” Davey said in an interview with the BBC.
Lineker was forced to “step back” from his duties of presenting the flagship Premier League highlights show after accusing the UK government of using Nazi-era rhetoric in its handling of illegal immigration.
The BBC said on Friday that England’s fourth-highest goalscorer had breached guidelines on fairness and that the corporation would seek “an agreed and clear position on the use of social media” before an on-screen return.
However, this decision caused chaos in scheduled sports programming across the BBC’s television and radio outputs.
Former England strikers Ian Wright and Alan Shearer were among the pundits who refused to take up their usual roles on Match of the Day, followed by the programme’s commentators.
As a result, the longest-running football television program in the world was broadcast for the first time without a presenter, pundit or commentary in a 20-minute highlights package of six matches from the English top flight.
Weekend preview show Football Focus and results program Final Score were also pulled from the schedule, while BBC Radio 5Live’s coverage was disrupted.
Asked whether he should resign over the crisis, Dewey replied: “Absolutely not.”
“I recognize that my job is to serve license-fee payers and deliver a BBC that is focused on truly world-class unbiased landmark output, and I look forward to tackling this position and delivering on it.
He added: “To be clear, success for me is getting Gary back on the air and together we are delivering world-class sports coverage to viewers which, as I say, I am sorry we were unable to deliver today.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak He said he hoped the standoff could be “resolved in a time-bound manner.”
Lineker is an independent broadcaster for the BBC, not a permanent member of staff, and is not responsible for news or political content, so is not required to adhere to the same strict rules on objectivity.
The former Leicester striker was in attendance at the King Power Stadium for his home town club’s 3-1 loss to Chelsea but did not speak to reporters.
Some Leicester fans showed their support for Lineker with placards: “I’m with Gary, migrants welcome.”
Linekar’s reaction to video that features Home Secretary sparks controversy Suella Braverman Unveiled plans to stop migrants crossing the Channel on small boats.
Lineker, the BBC’s highest-paid star, wrote on Twitter: “This is an extremely brutal policy directed at the most vulnerable in a language not dissimilar to the one used by Germany in the 30s.”
The Conservative government intends to reject asylum claims by all illegal arrivals and transfer them to other countries such as Rwanda to prevent crossings, which totaled more than 45,000 last year.
A YouGov poll published on Monday showed 50 per cent in support of the measures, while 36 per cent opposed them.
But rights groups and the United Nations said the law would make Britain an international outlaw under European and United Nations conventions on asylum.
The BBC’s move sparked a wave of criticism from politicians and public figures, many of whom accused it of bowing to the demands of Conservative MPs.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer said the BBC “got it horribly wrong and are now very, very exposed”, while a petition demanding Lineker be reinstated has attracted over 190,000 signatures.
The issue has brought to the fore years of debate over the BBC’s fairness, which intensified after Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
The Lineker row comes in a particularly heated period after the BBC chairman’s allegations richard sharp Provided a loan guarantee facility for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson when applying for the job.
“Everyone wants to resolve the situation peacefully,” Davey said in an interview with the BBC.
Lineker was forced to “step back” from his duties of presenting the flagship Premier League highlights show after accusing the UK government of using Nazi-era rhetoric in its handling of illegal immigration.
The BBC said on Friday that England’s fourth-highest goalscorer had breached guidelines on fairness and that the corporation would seek “an agreed and clear position on the use of social media” before an on-screen return.
However, this decision caused chaos in scheduled sports programming across the BBC’s television and radio outputs.
Former England strikers Ian Wright and Alan Shearer were among the pundits who refused to take up their usual roles on Match of the Day, followed by the programme’s commentators.
As a result, the longest-running football television program in the world was broadcast for the first time without a presenter, pundit or commentary in a 20-minute highlights package of six matches from the English top flight.
Weekend preview show Football Focus and results program Final Score were also pulled from the schedule, while BBC Radio 5Live’s coverage was disrupted.
Asked whether he should resign over the crisis, Dewey replied: “Absolutely not.”
“I recognize that my job is to serve license-fee payers and deliver a BBC that is focused on truly world-class unbiased landmark output, and I look forward to tackling this position and delivering on it.
He added: “To be clear, success for me is getting Gary back on the air and together we are delivering world-class sports coverage to viewers which, as I say, I am sorry we were unable to deliver today.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak He said he hoped the standoff could be “resolved in a time-bound manner.”
Lineker is an independent broadcaster for the BBC, not a permanent member of staff, and is not responsible for news or political content, so is not required to adhere to the same strict rules on objectivity.
The former Leicester striker was in attendance at the King Power Stadium for his home town club’s 3-1 loss to Chelsea but did not speak to reporters.
Some Leicester fans showed their support for Lineker with placards: “I’m with Gary, migrants welcome.”
Linekar’s reaction to video that features Home Secretary sparks controversy Suella Braverman Unveiled plans to stop migrants crossing the Channel on small boats.
Lineker, the BBC’s highest-paid star, wrote on Twitter: “This is an extremely brutal policy directed at the most vulnerable in a language not dissimilar to the one used by Germany in the 30s.”
The Conservative government intends to reject asylum claims by all illegal arrivals and transfer them to other countries such as Rwanda to prevent crossings, which totaled more than 45,000 last year.
A YouGov poll published on Monday showed 50 per cent in support of the measures, while 36 per cent opposed them.
But rights groups and the United Nations said the law would make Britain an international outlaw under European and United Nations conventions on asylum.
The BBC’s move sparked a wave of criticism from politicians and public figures, many of whom accused it of bowing to the demands of Conservative MPs.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer said the BBC “got it horribly wrong and are now very, very exposed”, while a petition demanding Lineker be reinstated has attracted over 190,000 signatures.
The issue has brought to the fore years of debate over the BBC’s fairness, which intensified after Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
The Lineker row comes in a particularly heated period after the BBC chairman’s allegations richard sharp Provided a loan guarantee facility for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson when applying for the job.
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