Impartiality is indeed a golden standard in broadcasting, and one that the BBC purports to aspire to although it’s handling of the Gary Lineker case has fallen well short. It is quite laudable to want party Political impartiality from presenters in the course of their duties, but to attempt to silence them from making personal statements on moral issues and matters of concern in society is a step too far. It is indeed a sad day when it appears acceptable for the state broadcaster to police comments by its employees on social media when no laws have been broken. Such corporate action is in itself highly biased when it excludes similarly balanced action against those who openly express opposing views that apparently align with the ruling party, as in the case of Fiona Bruce’s reported defence of Stanley Johnson’s alleged wife beating incident as “ a one off”. If the powers that be at the BBC want to silence opposition to the UK government’s inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers they have certainly gone about it in a spectacularly disastrous way and have created a massive backlash highlighting their total lack of objective impartiality which has created a blemish on the very reputation that the BBC seeks to promote.
This is not a party political issue but one of social morality. Lineker was indeed correct to draw parallels with the 1930s because when good people remain silent we know what can happen.
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