London politics latest LIVE: Rishi Sunak faces growing Tory revolt over controversial Illegal Migration Bill
Ishi Sunak faced the threat of a Tory revolt on Monday over his deeply controversial ‘small boat’ bill.
The Prime Minister’s energy czar, Chris Skidmore, said he would not vote for the bill, which even the government’s own lawyers believe may violate international law.
Ahead of the second reading of the illegal migration bill, former Energy Secretary Skidmore tweeted: “I am not prepared to break international law or the human rights conventions which the UK has a proud history of playing a leading role in establishing.
“I will not vote for the bill tonight.”
Other senior Tories who have raised concerns about the legislation include former Cabinet Ministers David Davis, Sir Robert Buckland and Simon Hoare, chairman of the Commons’ Northern Ireland Committee, who is calling on the Prime Minister to include legal and safe routes to asylum into the UK in the bill is “hard and humane”.
It comes as the BBC announced Gary Lineker would return to Saturday’s Match Of The Day after being taken off the air for his tweets criticizing the government’s migration policy.
In a statement released on Monday, BBC Director-General Tim Davie said: “Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary and I look forward to him presenting our coverage over the coming weekend.”
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Calls on the Prime Minister to sack the BBC chairman
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has urged Rishi Sunak to “do the right thing” and sack BBC leader Richard Sharp.
In a tweet, Mr Davey said: “The BBC made the right decision in relation to Gary Lineker – now is the time for Rishi Sunak to do the right thing and sack Richard Sharp.
“The BBC needs a proper independent chairman, not a Johnson acolyte.”
Tory MP Chris Skidmore ‘won’t vote for bill tonight’
Conservative MP Chris Skidmore has said he will not vote for the Illegal Migration Bill when it goes to the House of Commons for its second reading later on Monday.
The backbencher, who is stepping down at the next general election, tweeted: “I am not prepared to break international law or the human rights conventions which the UK has a proud history of playing a leading role in establishing.
“I will not vote for the bill tonight.”
Gary Lineker’s son shares his pride on Twitter
Downing Street’s ‘enjoyable’ Lineker dispute has been resolved
Downing Street has said it is “delighted” that the dispute between the BBC and Gary Lineker has ended.
While they declined to say whether the Prime Minister has confidence in BBC Director General Tim Davie, a spokesman for No10 said: “We are delighted that this situation has been resolved and fans can watch Match Of The Day as usual this weekend. ”
BBC surrendered to Gary Lineker Row, says former manager
Former BBC news anchor Sir Craig Oliver said asking Gary Lineker to return as presenter of Match Of The Day was a “surrender” by the company.
The ex-English news controller at BBC Global News also said the BBC will “always be a political football in British politics” and needs to “stand up and be clear”.
Sir Craig, who later became Downing Street’s communications chief when David Cameron was Prime Minister, told BBC News: “I think what happened here is Gary Lineker 1 – BBC credibility is zero.
“The reality is that the BBC announced today that they will be reviewing their social media guidelines. In fact, it needs a review of how it deals with such crises.”
Sir Craig said the company was in a position where it was “slow to react”, making the “wrong choice” when it asked Lineker to step down from his presenting role, resulting in other BBC sports staff refusing to give theirs Making shows and “chaos” in the programming schedule before the course reversal.
“I think it’s a total mess,” he added.
No10 refuses to be told if PM has any confidence in BBC chairman
Downing Street has refused to say whether the Prime Minister trusts Tim Davie after the Gary Lineker row, stressing that the choice of the BBC chief executive is a company matter.
“The Director General is appointed by the BBC and is their business,” said a spokesman for No10.
“I’m just pointing out that he was appointed by the BBC and it’s up to them,” the announcer added at the urging of reporters.
When asked about the Prime Minister’s position on the royalty, the spokesman said: “We remain committed to the royalty for the remainder of the current charter. However, we recognized that the BBC’s funding model faces major challenges due to the changing way people consume media.
“And there is a need to look for ways to ensure long-term sustainability.”
The BBC board says the time is right for a review of social media guidelines
The BBC board said in a statement that it “welcomes the fact that the executive has reached an agreement after the weekend was suspended”.
It added: “Impartiality is a cornerstone of the BBC. We believe this is the right time to address the clarity of the BBC’s Social Media Guidelines and how they are applied.
“We will support the executive as they continue to ensure the organization is delivering quality, impartial content to all audiences.”
Lineker refuses to answer questions as he leaves his home in London
Gary Lineker refused to answer reporters’ questions as he left his home in Barnes, south west London, on Monday morning after his return to the BBC was announced.
The Match Of The Day host walked his dog and told reporters: “I’ve already said what I’m going to say on Twitter.
“If I say anything else now, it just encourages people to get out the front door.”
Mr Lineker refused to answer when asked: “Do you stand by what you said?”, “Did you win?”, “Is this a common sense win?” and “Did Tim Davie personally apologize to you?”.
When photographers took pictures, he said: “Exactly, that’s enough – you have your pictures”.