Thread by @RussInCheshire

I wonder - speculating - if they'll regret this. A bit like Brexit: getting everything they want isn't what they want.

Suspending #GaryLineker just politicises the audience of one of the UKs most popular people. And making people aware of politics doesn't help the Tories.

Sure, there will be people who want Linaker gone, and people who don't. But in the middle, a huge group not really paying attention to politics, who suddenly have to choose between a much-loved, highly likeable footballing hero, and Suella Braverman, aka Joseph Gerbils.

And the BBC may be making a mistake too. Linaker is very rich, and could waltz into the same job on any channel for 2x the pay. To coin a phrase, they need him more than he needs them.

Doing this to curry favour with the govt won't work. They will NEVER suddenly love the BBC.

The beeb can ONLY lose here. And I think (perhaps) the govt can only lose too.

Gary Lineker is a famously decent (never booked), hugely likeable presence in everybody's living room.

Not words I'd apply to anybody in the govt.

So I wonder if they've gone too far, and all the gloating from Nadine Dorries etc is just the latest example of them being thick enough to stand a spoon up in.

Maybe I'm in a bubble, but I don't see this going well for the right. Be careful what you wish for.