it s been a difficult day, and i am sorry that audiences have been affected and they haven t got the programming. as a keen sports fan, i know, like everyone, that to miss programming is a real blow, and i am sorry about that. we are working very hard to resolve the situation and make sure that we get output back on air. and i think that he is an outstanding broadcaster. he s a brilliant broadcaster. and to be clear, success for me is gary gets back on air and together we are giving to the audiences that world class sports coverage, which as i say, i m sorry we haven t been able to deliver today. gary lineker has made lots of comments before you allowed him to criticise the qatari government on the bbc. why was this different? is it because he attacked the uk government?
no, absolutely not. this is nothing to do with anything to do with the specifics of where a tweet is sent. and i ll talk in general terms, but it s about getting involved in party political matters. now, what i would say is i m listening hard. this has been a tough time for the bbc and we care about our audiences. we want to get the right outcome for this. we re working very hard to get that done. and i would like to see gary lineker return on air on the bbc. you re questioning his impartiality, but there are lots of people who are questioning yours. they are saying that you buckled under pressure from the uk government, the conservative party, of which you were once a member an official, and the right wing press to take action against gary lineker. is that true? is it the uk government, the right wing press, all of that that made it different for you this time? this. . .absolutely not. anyone who knows me, by the way, knows that we are in the bbc and myself are absolutely driven
comes to impartiality and personal political views. the body language of gary lineker seen at a football match that they markedly different from the director general of the bbc. the former director general greg bike said the bbc had undermined its own credibility as it appeared that it bowed to government pressure. the director general saying that it is not about left or right but that has not stopped politicians weighing in. an unusual comment from rishi sunak at five, six o clock on a saturday, it is unusual for him to engage in those statements at that time. he heaped praise on gary lineker first and said he cannot always manner and pointedly said that it is for the bbc and gary lineker to resolve this matter but he urged people to maintain some perspective.