Gary Lineker has been told to step back from presenting Match of the Day until an agreement is reached on his social media use, the BBC has said.

It follows an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the government's new asylum policy.

The BBC said it considered Lineker's "recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines".

It added he should "keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies".

criticising the government's asylum policy.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme on Friday afternoon, he said: "I think it was inevitable. He [Lineker] has the letters BBC written across his forehead and yet he's plunged right into the most controversial story of the day.

"It's inevitable now that having in effect not sacked him but removed him temporarily at least, the BBC will now come under a torrent of criticism saying it's acting under the government's behest," he added.

A Labour source told the BBC that the corporation should "rethink their decision".

It said: "The BBC's cowardly decision to take Gary Lineker off air is an assault on free speech in the face of political pressure.

"Tory politicians lobbying to get people sacked for disagreeing with government policies should be laughed at, not pandered to. The BBC should rethink their decision."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called the BBC's decision "indefensible", as she wrote on Twitter: "As a strong supporter of public service broadcasting, I want to be able to defend the BBC. But the decision to take Gary Lineker off air is indefensible.

"It is undermining free speech in the face of political pressure - and it does always seem to be right-wing pressure it caves to."

Lineker has hosted Match of the Day since 1999 and is the BBC's highest paid star, having earned about £1.35m in 2020-21.

He is employed by the BBC on a freelance basis.

The ex-footballer has previously housed asylum seekers and publicly called for better rights and protections for refugees. He has also been critical of successive Conservative governments over issues including Brexit.

His comments have attracted widespread support on social media, with one tweet getting 235,000 likes.

Source: BBC