Gary Lineker has suggested he will avoid suspension by the BBC for his comments about the Governmentâs asylum policy.
The Match Of The Day presenterâs row with the Government deepened as he hit back at Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt on Twitter and accused her of using a âclumsy analogyâ.
Lineker is facing criticism from members of the Conservative Party after comparing the language used to launch the new policy with 1930s Germany.
BBC taking the matter “seriously”
The BBC has said it is taking the matter âseriouslyâ and expects to have a âfrank conversationâ with Lineker, and on Thursday the BBC pundit confirmed he had spoken to director-general Tim Davie.
He tweeted: âWell, itâs been an interesting couple of days. Happy that this ridiculously out of proportion story seems to be abating and very much looking forward to presenting @BBCMOTD on Saturday.
âThanks again for all your incredible support. Itâs been overwhelming.â
Lineker later responded to Ms Mordaunt on Twitter after she accused Labour of borrowing from his âplaybookâ by being the âparty of goal hangersâ.
He tweeted: âThank you for mentioning me in your clumsy analogy. Iâm just happy to have been better in the 6 yard box than you are at the dispatch box. Best wishes.â
“Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak has continued to defend the Governmentâs new immigration policy, saying âI hope everyone over time realises that this is the right approachâ.
He said: âI strongly believe that what weâre doing is the right thing to do. I think itâs the fair thing to do and I actually believe that itâs the moral and compassionate thing to do, and Iâve made that argument multiple times.
âIâll continue to make it and I think actually the more people think about this challenge and how best to address it they will see that it is the right approach.
âAnd actually I was pleased that there was actually quite a lot of strong support for the approach weâve outlined now that weâve outlined it, because this is about thinking whatâs the best way to help the worldâs most vulnerable people.â
The “Linekers of the world”
Sunak was later asked whether the âLinekers of the worldâ will realise they have âgot it wrongâ.
He said: âI hope everyone over time realises that this is the right approach because weâve looked at lots of different things, tried lots of other ways, as Iâve said, and nothing else has worked.
âAnd having looked at this long and hard myself Iâm confident this is the best and right approach to solve this problem, which I think everyone acknowledges is a challenge and itâs one of my five priorities because I think itâs undoubtedly something that the country thinks is important and needs resolving.
âThe question is how do you resolve it in a way thatâs fair, compassionate and can resolve it and thatâs what I think our approach does.â
Related: Unhinged or unworkable? The Toryâs Illegal Immigration Bill is both