When Gary Lineker "mistakenly" shared antisemitic material on social media, it was the "final straw" for BBC bosses. The "Match of the Day" host's inability to accept that his "voicing of strongly-held views" could have an impact on the broadcaster's "need for impartiality", had long "caused problems", said Katie Razzall, the BBC's culture and media editor.
The "sorry end" to Lineker's BBC career highlights how important – in an age when high-profile personalities have huge followings on social media – the broadcaster's editorial guidelines are to its reputation management.
What are the rules and who has to follow them?
"Defining impartiality is easy: it means reflecting all sides of arguments and not favouring any side," say the BBC's editorial guidelines. "But putting impartiality in practice is more difficult."
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The broadcaster's guidelines demand the "highest level of impartiality in News and Current Affairs and factual journalism (including sport)", and especially "in relation to controversial subjects and major matters".
The BBC does not allow, for example, "expression of personal views" by its news and current affairs presenters, reporters and journalists, "other than in exceptional and defined circumstances". It is not expected, however, that the same requirement will apply to those who work on comedy or drama or other output.
In its social media guidance, the BBC says staff and freelancers are "required to respect civility in public discourse and to not bring the BBC into disrepute", although they are not expected to uphold impartiality when posting online.
But stricter rules apply for "individuals working in news and current affairs, sports journalism, and factual journalism", as well as those in senior management positions. This includes not revealing how you vote, not supporting a campaign, not expressing support for any political party or a view on any issue which is a "matter of current political debate, or on a matter of public policy".
How have the BBC guidelines changed?
The BBC updated its social media guidance in 2023, after Lineker was suspended over a tweet about the government's asylum-seeker policy, which he said was publicised with language "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".
An independent review by former ITN boss John Hardie recommended that high-profile presenters hosting "flagship programmes" should be able to "express views on issues and policies" but must not endorse or attack a political party, criticise the character of individual UK politicians, or take up an official role in campaigning groups. These additional measures apply while a programme or series is on air and for a two-week window before and after it's been broadcast, and cover stars such as Alex Jones from "The One Show" and "Strictly Come Dancing" hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Have other stars broken impartiality rules?
Lineker is far from the first person to fall foul of the BBC's impartiality rules – even if he is probably the most high-profile. In fact, there have been a number of cases in recent years where presenters have been suspended or sacked, predominantly for posting criticism of the government.
In 2021, then-"Newsnight" presenter Emily Maitlis was reprimanded for sharing a "clearly controversial" social media post related to the government's response to the Covid pandemic. The BBC's complaints unit said she had breached editorial guidelines by failing to provide "surrounding context" to ensure impartiality. A year previously, she had also been deemed to have breached impartiality rules with a "Newsnight" opening that was critical of Dominic Cummings' lockdown-busting trip to Barnard Castle.
In 2022, news presenter Martine Croxall was temporarily suspended for asking on-air if she was "allowed to be this gleeful" about Boris Johnson's failed bid to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader. A year later, Carol Vorderman stepped down from her weekly show on BBC Radio Wales after a series of posts critical of the Conservative government, including one which said "this iteration of the Tory Party needs to be utterly dismantled at the next election". Vorderman said she was not "prepared to lose my voice on social media".
