Lineker escapes BBC social media ban despite comparing government to Nazis

The BBC has sparked outrage by allowing Gary Lineker to continue expressing his anti-Tory political views on social media, despite a recent row over his comparison of the government’s asylum policy to Nazi Germany. The Match of the Day presenter, who earns £ million a year from the public broadcaster, will not be bound by the new social media guidelines that aim to ensure impartiality and avoid bringing the BBC into disrepute. The new rules, which were announced on Thursday, state that employees should not “express a personal opinion on matters of public policy, politics, or ‘controversial subjects’” and should not “criticise your colleagues in public”. However, they also make an exception for “some senior leaders and a small number of presenters who have been hired to express their specific views”. Lineker falls into this category, along with other high-profile figures such as Andrew Neil and Nick Robinson. The BBC defended its decision by saying that Lineker is not a journalist or inv