Gary Lineker is known for speaking - or shall we say tweeting - his mind about different issues and he’s now given a brutal response to an idea proposed by Tory MP Andrew Rosindell for the UK national anthem to be played every night on the BBC.
Up until 1997, ‘God Save The Queen’ could be heard playing every day on BBC One as it carried the channel into the early hours of the morning. While this no longer happens, it has continued playing daily on Radio 4 before the BBC World Service is introduced.
In the House of Commons, the MP for Romford argued that bringing this back would create a “great sense of unity and pride in our nation” and asked: “So in this year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, will the minister take steps to encourage public broadcasters to play the national anthem and ensure the BBC restores it at the end of the day’s programming before it switches to News 24?”
The question was met with positive comments from fellow Tory MPs.
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries seemed to approve of the idea and could be heard saying “fantastic” in response to the suggestion.
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However, pundit and ex-footballer Lineker - who is one of the BBC’s biggest presenters - wasn’t exactly as enthused at the idea and made his feelings clear on the matter.
Quote tweeting an image of Rosindell where he asked about the anthem coming back, Lineker replied sarcastically: “Yeah, let’s be less British and more North Korean.”
Yeah, let’s be less British and more North Korean. 👊🏻 https://t.co/29tg5cRW7w
— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) January 6, 2022
Comparing the move to something that would happen under the dictatorship of Kim Jong-un in North Korea.
A BBC spokesperson told The Huffington Post: “The national anthem is played every night on Radio 4 after the late shipping forecast and we continue to play it at appropriate times on television, such as during the Queen’s Christmas broadcast.
“We no longer play the national anthem on a daily basis on BBC One because it doesn’t close down in the evening.”
Meanwhile, the culture minister Chris Philp echoed similar sentiments and said to MPs: “We fully support the signing of the national anthem, Her Majesty the Queen and other expressions of patriotism – including the flying of the Union Jack.
“The more that we hear the national anthem sung, frankly, the better. Organisations like schools are free to promote it and the more we can do in this area, the better it’ll be.”
Guess we will have to wait and see if Rosindell’s request will happen... but what we do know for certain is Lineker is not a fan.
