[DTV]

So are you stating clearly, that if a presenter of the BBC came out today in favour of views you strongly disagree with you’d be fine with that?

Unless it was ideologically extremist or discriminatory, yes. I never called for Andrew Neil to be removed as senior political presenter or Jeremy Clarkson to be sacked as presenter of one the BBC's main entertainment programmes or David Tennant to be blacklisted as an actor on one of the BBC's largest drama properties or Brian Cox to be axed as a science presenter on account of their open and public political views. I don't even care if Coast is repeated, despite the nature of one of its presenters today.

Ultimately, what I care about is did they do the work the BBC asked for to the standard the BBC expected of them. If they can do that, fine. I just don't play along with these little partisan/culture war games.

This is about applying the same rules to all. Nobody said their views do not matter, just that they are no more qualtified to comment than you or me, so how does that help the situation other than bringing the BBC into the matter?

But a) the same rules don't apply to all - there are plenty of prominent BBC faces who can still be openly political. And b) I don't really see why they should apply to all - outside of News or management, I don't think there's any real need for the BBC's jurisdiction to extend to off air hours. Even then, of course, Neil was a senior BBC News face for two decades and none of the people crying about Lineker had an issue with him expressing his views off air - highlighting the fact the current squabble is purely partisan, not principle.

And the thing is, Lineker actually spends a great deal of time on the one issue he is vocal about - he's probably more qualified to comment about it than a lot of the blowhards on Politics Live or Question Time.