Documents Reveal BBC Boss Tim Davie Was In Contact With Top Government Official On Day He Suspended Gary Lineker
27.06.2023 - 09:15
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: BBC Director General Tim Davie was in contact with a senior government official on the day he suspended Gary Lineker, raising questions about whether he was pressured to punish the presenter for breaking impartiality rules.
Documents obtained by Deadline reveal that Davie was in dialogue with Polly Payne, Director General of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), on March 10. Emails between the BBC and the DCMS show that Payne and Davie’s conversations were unscheduled.
The papers cast fresh light on the biggest crisis of Davie’s tenure after he suspended Match of the Day host Lineker for tweeting that government asylum policy had echoes of Nazi Germany. Lineker was swiftly reinstated three days later following a weekend of chaos, in which his colleagues effectively went on strike and BBC sports coverage fell off air.
The revelation that Davie spoke to the DCMS has raised eyebrows among BBC staff, lawmakers, and Lineker’s allies, one of whom described evidence of the conversations as “explosive.” The corporation’s proximity to government has been under scrutiny following Richard Sharp’s resignation as Chairman in April over a Boris Johnson loan scandal.
It comes as the BBC prepares to publish an independent review of its social media rules for freelance stars led by former ITN Chief Executive John Hardie. Deadline understands that, ahead of publication, the BBC has attempted to establish whether Lineker will accept and abide by Hardie’s conclusions, despite the fact that they are yet to be finalized.
On the day Lineker was stood down, an assistant to DCMS official Payne emailed Davie’s office at 11.36AM to organize a call for later that day, according to a Freedom of Information Act