Gary Lineker Brands Culture Secretary John Whittingdale A ‘Chump’ For Joking He’s Going To Kill The BBC

Gary Lineker has joined the bashing of Culture Secretary John Whittingdale’s approach to the BBC by slamming him as a “chump” after the politician joked about killing off the institution.

The 55-year-old, paid £1.5million a year by the Beeb, was furious after Whittingdale said the corporation’s demise was a “tempting prospect”.

The Match of the Day presenter, pictured below taking a call for a charity event, tweeted: ‘This chump sums politicians up. The BBC is revered throughout the world. We should be proud of it, not destroy it.’

Whittingdale had joked it was “occasionally tempting” not to renew the BBC’s charter, meaning it would “cease to exist”.

He made the comments in a speech at Cambridge University in which he also said the BBC struggled to deal with people who held a “different view of the world”.

Whittingdale, above, added: “The BBC has always regarded people who want to leave Europe as faintly mad. It has generally been in favour of spending public money rather than those who want to see lower taxes.

“There is a section of our population who are required to pay for the BBC, but don’t feel they get the kind of programming they need.”

Pictures Getty Images