An ex-BBC governor’s call for Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright to be fired from Match of the Day and replaced with women “at half the price” has been condemned by Labour MPs.
Labour’s Dawn Butler told The Independent the remarks shine a light on the under-appreciation of women in society, while Kate Osborne, a Labour MP who sits on the women and equalities committee, said the remark was “abhorrent”.
It comes after Lord Young of Norwood Green said leading football pundits should not be paid huge salaries by the publicly-funded broadcaster.
Speaking to peers in Westminster, the Labour peer said: “I tend to echo the view that was made about Gary Lineker and his salary.
“He’s like many people in that position in the past who believe they are irreplaceable. You’ll remember that Jeremy Clarkson and the Top Gear team thought that they were irreplaceable and needless to say that Top Gear thrives just as successfully without them.
“So, if I had a solution, and advice that I have conveyed in written form to the director general, it would be to get rid of the old boys’ club, namely Lineker, Shearer and Wright, replace it with at least one or two women, which we could probably do at half the price and they’d do twice as good a job.”
Ms Butler, Labour MP for Brent Central, said: “With women earning 87p to a man’s £1, it is clear from comments like this that people like Lord Young are fully aware that women are underpaid and undervalued.
“Let’s stop pretending and start appreciating the role women play in all aspects of society, including playing football and commentating on football.”
While Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow, added: “The people that we should be getting rid of at the BBC are the old boys club, the club that protects Tory chum’s interests, minimise violence against women and perpetuate misogyny in society.
“The corrupt revolving door of rich white men at the top that protect vested interests and think the gender pay gap is justified.
“The comment from Lord Young is abhorrent - and he should publicly withdraw it in the Lords chamber. Lord Young could have made the point about high salaries and saving the BBC singers - a campaign I agree with - without chucking women under the bus.”
A number of peers, including fellow Labour members, heckled Lord Young after this comment, with one shouting: “Half the price?”
But Lord Young maintained his position, saying: “I don’t believe that we should be paying those kinds of prices to presenters.”
The Labour peer, who was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in Gordon Brown’s government, stated if the BBC’s director general would be able to “save the BBC Singers, which provide a really important contribution” to the nation if they sacked the Match of the Day team and replace them with lower-paid presenters.
