BBC 'talking rubbish' on Lineker tweet

THE BBC last night faced accusations of talking "rubbish" after it claimed Gary Lineker mistook an anti-Israeli tweet for an item of "football news".

- Robert Kellaway

The broadcaster insisted the star, who retweeted the call for Israel to be banned from international football, "wasn't taking a position" in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

But Stephen Crabb MP, a former Cabinet minister and parliamentary chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel dismissed the claim as "rubbish".

He said: "Everything I've seen of Gary Lineker suggests to me he is an intelligent man. I cannot see how the original tweet could have been misinterpreted or not properly understood. I felt extremely strongly about how inappropriate it was for anybody connected to the BBC to appear to be endorsing a tweet like that.

"The BBC have faced many questions about how it has covered the conflict since October 7. It needs to be ensuring its highest profile presenters are not engaging in any activity that shows bias and hostility to Israel."