The BBC agreed a deal with Gary Lineker which allows him to tweet about refugees and climate change, it has emerged.
The Match of the Day host was forced to step back from the programme after he likened the rhetoric of Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, on migrants to the language of 1930s Germany.
However, speaking on a podcast, Lineker said he had informed Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, that refugees and climate change were the two subjects on which he would “not back down”.
It is understood that the BBC accepts that agreement was struck, and that the corporation only considers comments to be a breach of impartiality if they make reference to a political party.
Giving his side of the story, Lineker said terms were agreed when the BBC updated its social media guidelines in 2020 to cover high-profile presenters working outside news and current affairs.
He described the reaction to his tweet as “disproportionate”.
“When I first met Tim Davie, when he first brought in his guidelines, we had a discussion. And I said to Tim, ‘there are two things that I’ll continue to talk up on, that I will not back down on.’
“And he agreed. One of them was about the refugee crisis and the other one was about climate change.”
Lineker was speaking to Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart on The Rest is Politics podcast, which is produced by his own Goalhanger media company.
“Would I do it differently now? Probably, after the furore that it’s caused. But I think that it’s true and factual, so I don’t think impartiality comes into it,” he said.
He had never “contemplated it would be an issue at all” to tweet about the Government’s small boats policy, and insisted it did not break impartiality rules.
A BBC source said: “We have never said Gary can’t have a view on things he cares about. But he has to stay within the guidance and stay away from politics.”
Lineker described waking up the day after his tweet to 237 WhatsApp messages. “I really had worried thoughts for a few seconds because I couldn’t think what it could possibly be. And I thought either it’s some kind of scandal, or has something happened to one of my kids?”
When he realised it was about his Braverman tweet, “I just went, ‘Oh, thank God for that, that’s all it is. I don’t mind that.’
“My first [reaction] was, ‘Really, hang on a minute. I’ve not been abusive to anyone. I’ve not said anything particularly controversial.’ I think it was factual.
“I’m not saying all our policies echo those of Germany, but sometimes some of the language is not dissimilar.”
He conceded on refugees and climate change that “obviously all these things will be linked to politics”, but said: “My argument here was, ‘Let’s have some empathy towards these poor people that are forced to flee persecution and war’.
“We obviously can’t have everyone here - we all know that. Just have our fair share.”
He said of the BBC’s handling of the affair, which saw him removed from Match of the Day and then reinstated: “People make mistakes. They recognised that and they addressed it.”
Lineker said he had been moved by the support of BBC Sport colleagues, including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, who staged an unofficial strike in support of him.
“I must admit I had a tear in my eye,” he said. “To get that kind of team spirit, that kind of camaraderie and togetherness - I mean, it just moved me. It was beautiful.”
Lineker said he often stopped himself from tweeting about contentious subjects.
Asked about his political leanings, he told the podcast: “I’ve voted for lots of different parties at different points for different reasons.
“I’m not particularly a leftie. I’m certainly not from the right. I think I probably drift from centre to a little bit left of centre.”
