Former MOTD pundit, 66, reveals the BBC protocol that ‘got to him at the end’

MARK LAWRENSON has revealed that BBC producers telling him not to voice his opinion “got to him in the end”.

The former Liverpool star, 66, was axed by the Beeb in 2022 after more than 25 years with the broadcaster.

Ben Heath PodcastMark Lawrenson discussed the BBC on a recent podcast appearance[/caption]

HandoutLawrenson, 66, was previously one of MOTD’s main men alongside Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Alan Hansen[/caption]

Lawro initially claimed that he’d been let go because he was “65 and white”.

In an interview with Ben Heath, Lawrenson has now added that his former employers are “top of the woke league”.

On how things had changed by the end of his stint with the BBC, Lawro said: “You used to go on the programme and have the headset in your ears.

“They would be talking to you from the gallery and someone would ask a question, you’d want to jump in and they would say ‘don’t say anything’.

“You go ‘what really?’, that got to me a bit at the end.

“[Alan] Hansen was the best, finished after the World Cup in Brazil and said ‘I’m done’.

“I had a great run, but it has just changed. The world has changed hasn’t it, completely.

“Some of the things you could just say, now it is absolutely impossible.”

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Quizzed whether the BBC has “gone woke” earlier in the interview, Lawrenson claimed: “Gone woke? It is top of the woke league.

“They are frightened to death, absolutely and totally frightened to death.

“You have seen the stuff with Gary Lineker and obviously people at the head of the BBC, I think day by day, I think the integrity of the corporation gets chipped off.

“It used to be absolutely fantastic but they are woke, plus 100 per cent.”

Lineker, 63, was suspended by the BBC in March last year following a social media post likening new immigration legislation to 1930s Germany.

He was later reinstated after his fellow BBC presenters, pundits and commentators went on strike.

The Beeb eventually settled upon a new rule allowing their flagship presenters to “express views on issues and policies”.

On what happened to his former colleague, Lawrenson said: “They are frightened, they say to everyone you can’t do this and you can’t say that. Look, it is somebody’s opinion.

“The thing with Gary [Lineker] is that he works for himself, so he is entitled to his own opinion.

“Rightly or wrongly he has got an opinion about everything, even in the inside of a ping pong ball.”

Gary Lineker BBC’s suspension explained

The dramatic details in full:

Gary Lineker was suspended by the BBC last year after an impartiality row.

The Match of the Day host wrote a tweet criticising the government’s asylum policy.

Lineker compared new legislation to 1930s Germany.

It breached BBC guidelines over impartiality and saw him suspended for a week.

Lineker returned to action after colleagues protested over the Beeb’s decision.

Viewers also boycotted Match of the Day when it aired without any host or pundits.

Lineker has been at the helm of the show ever since, with the row quickly dying down.