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The silence of Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker earned at least £1.75m for his BBC work last year. That’s the equivalent of the TV licence fee from 11,326 over-75s, who this week learned they will no longer be exempt from the £154.50-a-year charge.

The BBC’s announcement that it will scrap the exemption for pensioners has been big news all week. So it surprised Mr S to notice that Gary Lineker has been curiously quiet on the subject. On his Twitter feed – which has been as busy as ever – there are mentions of other big news stories, such as the launch of Boris Johnson’s Tory leadership bid (Lineker calls Boris a ‘back-stabber’). And there are also tweets on Rory Stewart, the women’s football world cup and a retweet on Lineker’s second-favourite subject: Brexit.

But there is nothing on TV licences, despite Lineker’s name trending on Twitter earlier this week following the BBC’s announcement. Mr S wonders whether it might be time for Lineker to break his silence and say thank you to the elderly people footing the bill for his wages…

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Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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