Explained: What are the BBC’s impartiality guidelines and do they apply to Gary Lineker?

Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker has been asked to step back from his hosting duties on the BBC show after becoming embroiled in a row over impartiality.

However, a former BBC executive has said there is “a lot of confusion” over whether the corporation’s guidelines should apply to Lineker – who works as a freelance broadcaster.

Here we take a look at the BBC’s rules on impartiality:

The BBC says that it is “committed” to achieving due impartiality in all its output, describing it as “fundamental to our reputation, our values and the trust of audiences”.

The corporation’s guidelines state that the impartiality must be “adequate and appropriate to the output, taking account of the subject and nature of the content, the likely audience expectation and any signposting that may influence that expectation”.

It adds that BBC output must always “scrutinise arguments, question consensus and hold power to account” with both consistency and due impartiality.

Richard Sambrook, former director of news at the BBC and director of BBC Global News and the BBC World Service, told the PA news agency that “impartiality is crucial” for the BBC and staff in “everything they do”.

The BBC’s guidelines note that social media is “now part of everyday life” and that all of its staff are free to “engage in social media activities if they wish”.

However they state that similar to official platforms, all activity “whether it is in a ‘professional’ or ‘personal’ capacity” should be informed by the Editorial Guidelines.

A “clear distinction” should be made between BBC spaces which are run by the BBC for BBC purposes and personal spaces which are run by staff or BBC talent for their personal purposes, the guidance states.

Lineker has been