BBC reinstates Gary Lineker after suspension storm

Gary Lineker is set to return to his flagship soccer program after being reinstated by the BBC on Monday.

The public broadcaster was forced to scrap much of its weekend sports programming as it scrambled to stem an escalating crisis over its suspension of Gary Lineker.

Lineker, the BBC's star soccer presenter, was suspended last week for comments criticizing the British government's new asylum policy.

BBC Director General Tim Davie said in a statement that Lineker was a valued part of the BBC. "I look forward to him presenting our coverage this coming weekend," he said.

Lineker is the longtime host of the "Match of the Day" program and the row over his suspension even compelled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to comment on the matter last week.

“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," Sunak said last week.

The suspension renewed the focus on BBC chairman Richard Sharp who has been under fire after failing to declare that he had helped broker a loan for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson shortly before he was appointed to the role by the government.

Lineker thanks supporters

Lineker said he was "glad that we have found a way forward."

"I have been presenting sport on the BBC for almost three decades and am immeasurably proud to work with the best and fairest broadcaster in the world," he said.

Still, he added, "A final thought: however difficult the last few days have been, it simply doesn't compare to having to flee your home from persecution or war to seek refuge in a land far away. It's heartwarming to have seen the empathy towards their plight from so many of you."

Braverman adamant

Britain's interior minister, Suella Braverman, has meanwhile vehemently defended her policy, which envisages deporting almost all migrants who arrive without permission, such as those who make the dangerous Channel crossing from mainland Europe in small boats.

Braverman, herself the child of migrants to the UK, called those who opposed the plans "naive do-gooders" and claimed that immigration to the country was excessive.

She also said she would not be lectured on the views that are appropriate to hold with her family background.

"I will not be hectored by out-of-touch lefties," she told Parliament. "It's perfectly respectable for a child of immigrants like me to say that I'm deeply grateful to live here, to say that immigration has been overwhelmingly good for the United Kingdom, but we've had too much of it in recent years."

Asked whether she thought children received enough protection under the proposals — a major area of concern for those opposed to the policy — she said she was comfortable with the level of safeguarding.

The Illegal Migration Bill is expected to be heavily contested in Parliament and in the courts.

rm/rc (Reuters, AP)