Gary Lineker hits back as Tory Jonathan Gullis tells Channel 4 News BBC TV host called Red Wall voters ‘Nazis’

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The comments were made by Jonathan Gullis, MP for Stoke-on-Trent north, on Channel 4 News on Tuesday evening

Gary Lineker has described the comments made by  a Conservative MP who claimed the Match of the Day host called Red Wall voters “Nazis” and “racist bigots” as “outrageous and dangerously provocative”.

Lineker was suspended from the BBC last week, after he compared the language used to launch a new government asylum seeker policy to that of 1930s Germany on social media.

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The decision by the BBC was widely condemned and sparked a host of walkouts across their various platforms with both Alan Shearer and Ian Wright stepping back from their duties on Match of the Day, which was shortened to just 20 minutes with no commentary or hosts.

The former Tottenham striker took to social media to condemn the claims made by Jonathan Gullis, stating his comments were “outrageous and dangerously provocative”.

During the interview with Channel 4 News, Gullis said he was not concerned with upsetting members of the “Twitterati” before talking about Lineker, who is set to make a sensational return to Match of the Day this weekend.

Speaking about prime minister Rishi Sunak’s controversial legislation cracking down on migrants, he said: “(It’s) certainly tough and upsetting all the right people in the right places as far as I’m concerned.

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“Let’s be clear, when I talk about upsetting people I’m talking about the Twitterati, the Wokerati of North Islington, those champagne socialists who pontificate all day. Those are the people I don’t care upsetting, because those are the people who want to call people up here racist bigots, Nazis, like Gary Lineker has done.”

Responding to the clip, Simon Harris said: “I don’t think Gary Lineker has actually directly called Red Wall voters ‘Nazis’ Mr Gullis. Parliamentary privilege doesn’t apply when you’re not in parliament.”

Linker quoted that reply from Harris, saying: “No he hasn’t and never would. This is outrageous and dangerously provocative.”

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