Gary Lineker: BBC boss says he won’t resign as MotD cut to 20 minutes – as it happened

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Tim Davie says he is listening to feedback about how editorial guidelines are applied to different BBC staff.

The director general told the BBC there are questions about how they apply to freelancers within the organisation.

When asked if he would remove other presenters such as Lord Sugar, Chris Packham or Karren Brady who also give their opinions on social media, he said: “the current guidelines as they exist today … do draw distinction between those people who are seen as pan-BBC figures … that are different to those appearing on programmes. We can debate that.”

“I am in listening mode. I want to make sure that going forward we have a workable solution.”

Updated at 17.25 EST

The BBC One schedule has been updated to reflect that Match of the Day will now air for only 20 minutes.

The football highlights programme, which usually runs for around one hour and 30 minutes, will now be broadcast from 22.20 to 22.40.

Updated at 17.25 EST

BBC director general refuses to resign over Lineker impartiality row

Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, says he will not resign over the fallout over Gary Lineker.

Speaking to the BBC’s Nomia Iqbal in the US, he was asked if he should resign over the crisis and said he would not.

Davie also said it it has been a “difficult day” as he apologised for the disruption to the BBC’s sport programming today.

“I’m sorry audiences have been affected and they haven’t got the programming.

“As a keen sports fan I know to miss programming is a real blow and I’m sorry about that. We are working very hard to resolve this situation and make sure we get output on air.”

Davie added: “Everyone wants to calmly resolve the situation. Gary Lineker’s the best in the business – that’s not for debate.”

Updated at 17.36 EST

Shadow culture secretary: BBC chairman ‘totally unable’ to handle Gary Lineker row

BBC chairman Richard Sharp is “totally unable” to handle the Gary Lineker row, according to Labour’s shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell.

She has written to culture secretary Lucy Frazer to demand Sharp’s position is “urgently clarified”, saying his involvement in arranging an £800,000 loan facility for Boris Johnson has “profoundly damaged the perception of the BBC’s impartiality and independence from government”.

She wrote: “As the ultimate arbiter of these matters, Richard Sharp’s position, which was already increasingly untenable, needs to be urgently clarified. He is the one who should be giving staff, viewers and complainants the confidence that the organisation has acted proportionately and fairly. He is totally unable to perform this function”.

Powell called on Frazer to detail any conversations she had with Sharp, director-general Tim Davie and other BBC executives about Lineker’s suspension.

She also asked the minister to clarify when the investigation into Sharp’s appointment would be completed.

Updated at 14.03 EST

Saturday evening’s episode of the Fantasy 606 phone-in will not air on BBC Radio 5, presenter Chris Sutton has announced.

The former Blackburn Rovers and Norwich striker tweeted that he hoped that Gary Lineker and the BBC resolve “this messy situation”.

“There is no 606 tonight,” he said.

“I hope Gary Lineker and the BBC resolve this messy situation and Gary is back on MOTD soon but I’d have loved to have worked on our football phone in tonight and chatted about football and all of the days games.”

Match of the Day will last 20 minutes

Tonight’s Match of the Day will last only 20 minutes, according to the BBC’s sports editor Dan Roan.

Roan wrote on Twitter: “BBC1 will broadcast a much-reduced MOTD of just 20 mins duration tonight.”

There is not expected to be commentary on any of the games.

The highlights show is currently scheduled to begin at 22:20 GMT.

The BBC previously said the show will “focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry”.

Updated at 13.47 EST

There was a small protest outside the BBC’s offices in Salford, Greater Manchester, where Match of the Day and a lot of BBC Sport’s output is based.

About a dozen people from Manchester Stand Up to Racism took part with a banner being held up saying “Reinstate Gary Lineker” and other signs saying “Refugees welcome here”.

Sunak: Lineker row a matter for the BBC, not the government

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has a released a statement on the impartiality row and stated he will not weigh in on the issue between Lineker and the BBC.

He said: “As prime minister, I have to do what I believe is right, respecting that not everyone will always agree. That is why I have been unequivocal in my approach to stopping the boats.

Gary Lineker was a great footballer and is a talented presenter. I hope that the current situation between Gary Lineker and the BBC can be resolved in a timely manner, but it is rightly a matter for them, not the government.

“While that process is ongoing, it is important that we maintain perspective, particularly given the seriousness of the issue at hand. Forty-five thousand people crossed the channel illegally in the past year, many of whom have been exploited or trafficked by criminal gangs, putting their lives in danger.

“We need to break this cycle of misery once and for all and the policy we set out this week I believe aims to do just that. It is not only the fair and moral thing to do, it is also the compassionate thing to do.

“There are no easy answers to solving this problem, but I believe leadership is about taking the tough decisions to fix problems. I know not everyone will always agree, but I do believe this is fair and right.”

Updated at 13.19 EST

A Manchester City fan holding a sign that reads ‘Gary Lineker for prime minister’ at Selhurst Park in London. Photograph: Katie Chan/Action Plus/REX/Shutterstock

Updated at 12.54 EST

Jane Clinton

The BBC has apologised for the changes to this weekend’s sporting schedule and said it is “working hard to resolve the situation and hopes to do so soon”.

The broadcaster’s radio and TV timetables have been left in disarray as a series of presenters pulled out of shows after Gary Lineker was told to step back from hosting Match of the Day in a row over impartiality.

A spokesperson said: “The BBC will only be able to bring limited sport programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that.

“We are sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for BBC sport fans.

“We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon.”