Gary Lineker is defended by Labour’s shadow communities secretary over ‘Nazi’ tweet

Labor MP Lisa Nandy has claimed Gary Lineker did not refer to Nazis in his controversial tweets about migrants.

The Match Of The Day presenter, 62, recently plunged the BBC into a civil war between his talent and his management over a question of impartiality.

Commenting on the government’s new Illegal Migration Bill, Lineker called the small boat announcement an “immeasurably cruel policy directed against the most vulnerable people in language no different from that used by Germany. in the 30’s”.

However, Ms Nandy – the Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling, Housing and Communities – argued that he was not comparing the government to the Nazis.

“What people say Gary Lineker said is very different from what Gary Lineker actually said,” she said. Sky News.

Gary Lineker at the Etihad Stadium yesterday where he returned to TV for the first time since his impartiality row with the BBC over controversial migrant tweets

Protesters wear Gary Lineker masks during a Stand Up To Racism demonstration in George Square in Glasgow

“The government was keen to say they compared it to the Nazis, they weren’t – and I would have totally condemned that if they had – I don’t think they would have. “

“What he was pointing out was a chilling comparison to an environment in which people are not free to be able to challenge this type of language and behavior.”

Ms Nandy’s views differed from those of her senior Labor colleagues.

Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry insisted she would not have used the same words as Lineker and described them as “really very unfortunate”.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow interior secretary, also said she didn’t think what Lineker said was right.

The former England footballer returned to our screens yesterday to present the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.

However, Mark Chapman presented highlights from the match of the day on Saturday night.

Lineker was also recently spotted partying with celebrities such as Paloma Faith and Mary Charteris at the launch of a new private club amid the scandal surrounding his controversial tweets.

Early Saturday morning, protesters wore masks of Lineker’s face during a pro-refugee march in Glasgow.

Crowds descended on the Scottish town with signs reading ‘refugees welcome’ and ‘stop Rwanda’, a reference to Suella Braverman’s policy of deporting people arriving illegally in the UK in small boats to the African country .

The home secretary yesterday doubled down on the government’s controversial immigration policy by making her first visit to Rwanda since taking office.

Ms Braverman said the plan “will act as a powerful deterrent against dangerous and illegal travel”.

The minister also hit back at critics of the deal, saying Rwanda could hold “several thousand” migrants – although none have yet been relocated.