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MOTD’s Gary Lineker responds to ‘awkward’ Good Morning Britain interview
Match of the Day star Gary Lineker has responded to an ‘awkward’ interview with Richard Madeley on Good Morning Britain.
During an appearance on the ITV morning show yesterday (May 23), the presenter and former footballer was asked by co-presenter Madeley about the recent row that saw him removed temporarily from Match of the Day.
It followed an alleged breach of impartiality guidelines regarding comments he made on Twitter over Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s controversial refugee policy.
Related: BBC apologises after Gary Lineker interrupted by sex sounds during FA Cup coverage
Following the interview, Lineker subsequently appeared on Chris Moyles’s Radio X show, where the host asked how his morning had been so far.
“Well, it’s been, interesting… little interview with Mr Madeley, remember him?” Lineker replied, Moyles suggesting he had a “grilling” on GMB (via The Mirror).
“Well, you know… Richard Partridge Madeley, we know what you’re like… it was fine,” Lineker replied, in reference to Steve Coogan’s comedy character Alan Partridge.
In the original interview, Madeley asked about Lineker’s original tweet, alleging that he had compared the UK government and 1930s Germany, Lineker replying that the host had “misrepresented what [he] said”.
“That’s what happened because of the Daily Mail headline which caused this furrow in the first place,” he added.
“I didn’t compare the government to the Nazis, I didn’t talk about the Holocaust, I didn’t do any of that. All I said was, some of the language is not dissimilar to that used back in the thirties in Germany and there is a substantial difference in that.
“But it’s amazing how many people do think that, because they see a front page headline in a newspaper. But that’s water under the bridge now. All is well with the world, it was a very disproportionate story… common sense prevailed.”
Related: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire host Jeremy Clarkson responds to Richard Madeley calling him the wrong name
Madeley then asked about the similarities he had alleged, Lineker saying in response: “Again you’re using the term about Nazis and trying to connect it with this government. I was talking about some of the language that is not dissimilar and that is very much the case.
“We use the words ‘swarm’, we use the word ‘invasion’, we use the word ‘rapists’ – all these for people who are fleeing persecution, fleeing war, awful circumstances.
“All I was trying to say is that we can use kinder language and it was nothing more and nothing less than that, Richard.”
Organisations which provide help and support to refugees include the Refugee Council and UN Refugee Agency, which also provide information on ways you can help those in need.
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