THE BBC’s presenter Gary Lineker could see his job come under threat if Kelvin MacKenzie is successful in his bid to become Chairman of the corporation.
Mr Lineker is the host of Match of the Day on the BBC, but as the next Chairman of the broadcaster poses the possibility of change, the former footballer could be replaced. Former editor of the Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, made a surprising entry to the race despite being a prominent critic of the public broadcaster. Announcing that he was applying for the role, Mr Mackenzie proposed changes he would make. He said he would sell-off Radio 1 and Radio 2 as well as BBC One and BBC Two.
The £157.50 licence fee would be halved to make the BBC more competitive with the monthly subscription charged by Netflix.
He added that those who refuse to pay the licence fee would no longer face jail, saying: “I don’t want to be charged a fee by the state.”
Mr Lineker’s new £1.35m a year BBC contract would be ripped up.
Mr MacKenzie said: “He can go and eat crisps for a living or work for BT Sport.”
However, Radio 4 would survive the reshuffle if Mr MacKenzie took the role because the commercial sector “can’t replicate what they do”, citing “great obscure Nigerian plays” as an example.
He is also a close friend of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, having worked under him when at the Sun.
The journalist’s column for The Sun ended in 2017 after he compared the footballer Ross Barkley, who is mixed-race, to a gorilla.
The newspaper published an apology afterwards, saying: “The Sun has apologised for the offence caused by the piece.