High-profile BBC presenters should be able to express their views on political issues as long as they stop short of campaigning, according to a new report for the broadcaster after a row over Gary Lineker’s tweets.
The policy only applies to presenters outside of its news coverage. News presenters will still be subject to stricter impartiality guidelines.
The BBC has not clarified what would constitute political campaigning for the big-name presenters.
Shortly after the announcement, Lineker shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “All very sensible,” followed by a thumbs up emoji.
Aside from Lineker, other presenters the report has named as having “a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality” include The Apprentice’s Lord Alan Sugar, Antiques Roadshow’s Fiona Bruce, The One Show’s Alex Jones and Strictly Come Dancing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Actors, dramatists, comedians, musicians and pundits will not be affected by the new guidelines.
Lineker stood by posts on Twitter earlier this year in which he criticised the government’s asylum policies.
The former England footballer was asked to “step back” from presenting Match Of The Day during the row over his comments – which compared the language used to launch a new government asylum seeker policy to that of 1930s Germany.
He later returned to the presenting role after the row prompted a boycott by his fellow football pundits and commentators, hitting TV and radio coverage across the BBC.
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