A NAZI ACCUSATION REQUIRES CARE 

Comparing UK Ministers to Nazi mass murderers is a foolish, dangerous and irresponsible use of media power. 

Gary Lineker, a football commentator and pundit, is as entitled to freedom of speech as anybody. Surely those with any intelligence have learnt from the abuse by Donald Trump of tweet communication to rabble rouse, disseminate hatred and untruths and self-promote, that the tweet must be used responsibly and carefully. Gary Lineker chose to tweet that UKGOV Ministers promoting a policy to curb illegal immigration were like Nazis in Germany in the 1930s. Those Nazis were of course the perpetrators of mass murder including the Holocaust. 

The BBC, his employer, notwithstanding the tweet was in his personal capacity, decided Gary Lineker had broken their rules on political objectivity. He was in effect suspended. His followers, including his football Match of the Day colleagues, closed ranks.  Maybe the BBC has handled this badly. Maybe people like Gary Lineker, who only deal with minor things such as football commentary, should not be subjected to BBC objectivity rules. But Gary Lineker makes no secret of his dislike of the current UK Government which is perhaps his prerogative. And of course, in an employment situation breaching rules can have consequences. 

It is common ground throughout UK politics that illegal immigration by small boats needs containment. The issue is how. It is fact that so many boat people are not asylum seekers but young male chancers who are ignoring legal channels, but Gary Lineker demonstrates, like many tweeters, no analysis of realities. But in this case he simply tweeted a grossly insulting accusation. 

The sin is not really about BBC rules. It is much more significant. It is about a famous person who football fans listen to, wisely or not, using his power to influence others through extremist hatred incitement, as an accusation of Naziism inevitably is. It is arguably also stupid. The UK is today a leader in battling the modern-day Hitler, Putin, and his genocidal nature. UK immigration policy on any rational analysis is simply not in the same box. 

Maybe Gary Lineker dislikes the views of Suella Braverman, UK Home Secretary, who is leading on immigration policy with the PM Rishi Sunak. Both of course are of immigration backgrounds. His ill-considered tweet is a huge insult to a lady whose husband is Jewish and both his and his children’s ancestors were Holocaust victims. Is it perhaps a special responsibility of the famous people, who owe their influence to the entertainment industry particularly, to use their power responsibly in a considered way, not to rouse hatred and ill-feeling? Yes, freedom of speech is essential, but the more influential a person is, the greater the responsibility on their shoulders in the way they exercise their freedoms.