A former BBC governor sparked outcry in the House of Lords after suggesting Gary Lineker should be sacked and replaced by a woman 'at half the price'. Labour peer Lord Young of Norwood Green provoked anger as he remarked the Match of the Day host, along with colleagues Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, could be replaced by women at a cheaper rate for the corporation.
He told peers in Westminster: “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.
"The suggestion from Lord Young of Norwood Green sparked outcry from his own Labour benches in the House of Lords. 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.
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“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.” Several peers - including from his own party - were quick to heckle Lord Young.
One shouted: "Half the price?" But the peer doubled down on his comments, insisting he did not believe the BBC should be paying Mr Lineker’s £1.35 million salary, or Mr Shearer’s £450,000 sum.
Lord Young responded: “I don’t believe that we should be paying those kinds of prices to presenters.” He added that, if the director-general did fire the Match of the Day team and replace them with lower-paid presenters, they could 'save the BBC Singers, which provide a really important contribution to the country'.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, a minister in the department for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Decisions about salaries are, of course, for the BBC, but the Government have urged transparency over those payments so the licence fee payers are aware of how their money is being spent.”
Mr Lineker became embroiled in a row over impartiality at the BBC following a tweet criticising Government policy on immigration last week. The BBC announced earlier this month that the BBC Singers choir would be closed later in 2023.
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