Fiona Bruce to step back as Refuge charity ambassador over claims she trivialised domestic violence on BBC's Question Time

A former BBC boss has said presenters like Gary Lineker who are “inextricably bound up with an important BBC programme” should have to abide by impartiality rules.

One week after the BBC’s schedule of sport was severely disrupted with a boycott by staff in support of anchorman Gary Lineker, both the host and fellow pundits were all back on screen this weekend. 

The BBC licence fee is set to increase by £13 next year, prompting angry Tory MPs to call on the Government to cancel the rise. The fee is due to go up in line with inflation in April 2024 after a two-year freeze.

Brix Smith has spoken to NME about her debut solo album ‘Valley Of The Dolls’, as well as the darker sides of Manchester and California and watching Gary Linekar soil himself on-pitch.Recorded alongside producer Youth, the album is a brittle yet melodic punk assault which the former member of The Fall described as “an absolutely cracking album where every song was a breath of honesty, and a mixture of light and truly filthy darkness”“It’s the best thing I’ve done since The Fall,” she told NME. “I can die happy now”.The record is the first to bear Smith’s solo name after many years of working with bands including The Adult Net and The Extricated.

As Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle confirm they’ve been in talks with King Charles’ office about whether they‘ll attend the Coronation, royal expert Tom Bower told us their strained relationship with the royal family is beyond saving. He claimed the “selfish” and “unintelligent” Harry doesn’t understand his actions mean there can be “no way back” for a family reconciliation.

Piers Morgan has stepped in to defend Fiona Bruce after she was accused of ‘trivialising’ domestic abuse with comments made about Stanley Johnson during Question Time. Bruce, 58, partook in a discussion surrounding an alleged incident of domestic abuse, over Johnson’s ex-wife previously claiming that he broke her nose. Stepping in to clarify, Bruce said: ‘Stanley Johnson has not commented publicly on that.

All eyes have been trained on Gary Lineker’s Twitter account since the Match of the Day host struck a deal with BBC management to return to work this weekend, and he has not disappointed.

Question Time. Fiona has since stated that she was legally obliged to "contextualise a question" about Boris Johnson's father, and that her words were "absolutely not" an expression of her own opinions. Not all Twitter users were convinced, with one suggesting: "Her situation was akin to being both a Lung Cancer Charity spokesperson and Tobacco company spokesperson at the same time.

UPDATE: BBC employees will stage their biggest strike in 13 years on Wednesday after eleventh-hour talks with management failed. The walkout will force coverage of the UK government’s Budget off air and heap more embarrassment on Director-General Tim Davie, who has apologized for scheduling chaos over the Gary Lineker saga.

“Ambiguity” around social media guidelines was to blame for the BBC Gary Lineker scandal, according to Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes, who was challenged on the “creeping politicization” of UK TV news during a committee hearing this morning.

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has scrambled to avoid further disruption to its schedules after a walkout over Gary Lineker’s suspension canceled Premier League output.

BBC Question Time host Fiona Bruce has announced she will be stepping back from her role as an ambassador for the UK's leading charity on domestic violence Refuge.

The BBC’s Question Time host has stepped down from her role with a leading domestic violence charity after being criticized for defending Boris Johnson’s father from accusations that he is a “wife beater.”

Gary Lineker will be returning to the BBC after it was announced the host would "step back" from hosting the weekly football highlights programme, Match of the Day. BBC Director-General Tim Davie has apologised after Gary, 62, was told to step back from presenting Match Of The Day in a row over impartiality and said he will return to hosting coverage this weekend.

The BBC has recently descended into chaos after Gary Lineker was forced to step back from hosting Match of the Day following a row over impartiality. The footballer-turned-pundit, 62, was accused of breaching the BBC's impartiality rules after he posted a tweet comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum policy with that of 1930s Germany.

Naman Ramachandran BBC director general Tim Davie has apologized over the ongoing fracas around star soccer player turned sports pundit Gary Lineker, but will not resign. Last Tuesday, Lineker, commenting on the U.K. government’s controversial Illegal Migration Bill, tweeted, describing it as an “immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.” Lineker is a star presenter on the BBC’s “Match of the Day” soccer program. Lineker’s tweet raised government hackles and on Friday, the BBC suspended him, saying: “The BBC has been in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days.  We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines. The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting ‘Match of the Day’ until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media. When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.  We have never said that Gary should be an opinion free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies.”

BBC Director General Tim Davie has apologized to audiences for the disruption caused to the organization’s sports programming but said he won’t resign following the unprecedented talent walkout over the Gary Lineker row.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken out after Gary Lineker was dropped from his role on Match of the Day. The row broke out earlier this week after the former England striker took to social media to hit out at Government plans to stop small boats making the journey to Britain.

READ MORE: BBC’s Lineker MOTD crisis live as stars mutiny in support and show to air with no presenterWayne added: "I'm gonna go with 'no comment on this one guys. "One angry fan wrote: "Ah Wayne, thought you were better than this. Be grateful you live comfortably and will never have to make a journey like this.

More than 10 of the BBC’s highest-profile sports stars have staged an unprecedented walkout over the British broadcaster’s decision to suspend Gary Lineker. Below is a list of those who have walked out, with links to tweets explaining their reasons for joining the protest.