Quote Originally Posted by westcountryvillain View Post
Is this the beginning of the end for the BBC?

Personally - Lineker isn't a news broadcaster so should be able to tweet whatever he likes, most people can see beyond the hysteria and demarcate between what he's paid to do & what he does when he's "out of the office". I'd hope the BBC hierarchy is calm and objective enough to reconsider their approach here.
The BBC is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The government is wholeheartedly responsible for the BBC. They've been looking to abolish licence fees for a long time and funding the public broadcasters through taxation. It'll almost certainly take place in 2027 when the Royal Charter expires no matter who is in charge, but they've been exploring for a long time cutting it short early. It's simply not worth the licence fee anymore and most European countries have changed the model.

But this would mean the respective government can cut BBC funding on a whim. Why would the government keep funding an institution that attacks them...or a better way of looking at it, why would they pay Lineker to have a pop at them? It's absolutely not in the BBC's interest to be anything other than impartial and get in a mess.