Mutiny at the BBC: Lineker row causes mounting crisis at UK broadcaster

LONDON :Britain's BBC was forced to axe much of its sports coverage on Saturday after presenters refused to work in a show of solidarity with Gary Lineker, as a row over freedom of speech threatens to turn into a crisis for the national broadcaster.

Former England soccer captain Lineker, the BBC's highest paid presenter and the anchor of the football highlights programme "Match of the Day", was taken off air by the broadcaster on Friday after he criticised Britain's migration policy earlier in the week.

Many sports programmes did not air as scheduled on Saturday after multiple presenters walked out, prompting the BBC to apologise to viewers.

"We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon," the broadcaster said in a statement.

The Lineker row has sparked a debate over the BBC's neutrality, and pitched the government against one of the country's most high-profile and popular sports presenters.

Lineker declined to comment to media as he left his London home on Saturday, and did not reply to questions from reporters on arrival at the King Power Stadium in Leicester where he went to watch his former club play.

The BBC is committed to being politically impartial, but it is now facing criticism from the opposition Labour Party and media commentators who accuse it of silencing Lineker in response to pressure from the Conservative government.

"The BBC is not acting impartially by caving in to Tory MPs who are complaining about Gary Lineker," Labour leader Keir Starmer told reporters at a conference in Wales on Saturday.

'GERMANY IN THE 30s'

The furore comes after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new law earlier in the week which bars the entry of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the