Connect with us

Published

on

High-profile figures from sport and broadcasting appear to have poked fun at the BBC over its U-turn on the Gary Lineker impartiality row.

After the corporation last Friday suspended the Match of the Day presenter, 62, for his tweets criticising the government’s migration policy, it has now agreed to allow him back on air this weekend.

An independent review will look into its social media usage guidelines as the BBC’s director general Tim Davie denied reinstating the former England footballer amounted to a climbdown by the corporation.

But some Tory MPs are furious at the decision to bring Lineker back, saying it allows him “carte blanche” to say what he likes on social media, despite Mr Davie insisting that until the review report is published, Lineker will “abide by the editorial guidelines”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

BBC did ‘right thing’ over Lineker row

Lineker himself has started tweeting again about the plight of refugees, and also writing: “We remain a country of predominantly tolerant, welcoming and generous people.”

Mr Davie said he took “proportionate action” after the presenter apparently breached BBC impartiality guidelines by comparing the government’s language on its asylum plans to 1930s Germany – an intervention which caused uproar among Tory MPs as Labour politicians hailed his stand.

Ex-BBC presenter Dan Walker and former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville were among those who seemed to mock the corporation’s apparent climbdown.

More on Gary Lineker

Walker tweeted: “Unnecessary fixture decided by an own goal.”

Sky Sports pundit Neville was amused by the fact Mr Davie had apologised to Lineker, tweeting the word “apology” with two laughing emojis.

He added: “You think this lot would apologise if they didn’t have to. They took on football and got beat up again. I’m talking about the government who are at the heart of all this nonsense. They wanted to silence someone who is damaging them on a daily basis.”

Former BBC news executive Sir Craig Oliver said the corporation made the “wrong choice” when it asked Lineker to step back, which led to other BBC sports staff refusing to do their shows. “I think it’s a total mess,” he added.

And comedian Nish Kumar tweeted: “One of the best things about the end of the Match of the Day saga, is that we don’t have to listen to various Tory MPs talk about football. It’s been like listening to a dog describe chess.”

Lineker posts new refugees tweet as details emerge of BBC deal – latest updates

Tory MPs hit out at BBC

But some Conservatives MPs are not happy with the BBC’s decision, with Craig Mackinlay saying: “Gary Lineker is paid a seven-figure sum annually from BBC licence payers to present football.

“The BBC climbdown with an apology and carte blanche to do as he pleases on social media is remarkable.

“His eight million Twitter following is on the back of his ongoing celebrity due to his BBC contract and he can now seemingly push his highly political anti-government agenda with impunity. I know of no other employer who would permit this.”

‘Self-inflicted chaos’

And fellow Tory MP Scott Benton wrote: “The licence fee is a decades out of date, regressive tax which people shouldn’t have to pay simply to watch TV. I’ve long called for it to be scrapped.

“This self-inflicted chaos and their obvious unwillingness to enforce impartiality will only strengthen calls for the fee to go.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What are the BBC impartiality rules?

Read more:
The BBC’s guidelines on impartiality explained
Rishi Sunak declines to back BBC chairman Richard Sharp
Role of BBC director general has always been a tricky balancing act

Satirist Armando Iannucci said the row over impartiality at the BBC will continue until the corporation is separated from government.

The Thick Of It creator, who aired his comedy series about the inner workings of life in Westminster on the BBC, wrote on Twitter: “This week’s story will keep happening unless the BBC is truly independent of the government of the day.”

Lineker’s eldest son, George, tweeted a goat emoji – often used to signify G.O.A.T, meaning Greatest Of All Time for sportspeople. He later wrote: “Nice work Gaz.”

Meanwhile, a new YouGov poll of roughly 2,600 adults shows the majority (57%) think the BBC was right to reinstate Lineker.

Not everyone agrees with the decision, however, with 23% indicating that they think it was right to ask the presenter to step away. And a fifth of Britons don’t know how they feel about the situation.

Tory voters are split on the issue with 41% equally saying they agree and disagree.

But it was a much clearer divide among Labour supports – 81% said it was right for Lineker to be reinstated, compared to just 10% who say it is wrong.

Continue Reading

World

Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

Published

on

By

Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

More on Donald Trump

Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

Continue Reading

World

Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

Published

on

By

Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

Continue Reading

World

Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

Published

on

By

Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
Image:
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
Image:
The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

Continue Reading

Trending