Gary Lineker has been branded "arrogant" by a former BBC Broadcaster after throwing his support behind the company's controversial Gaza documentary.
The Match of the Day presenter joined around 500 other TV figures in calling for the film to be returned to iPlayer via an open letter, on which the signatories claimed there is a "racist" and "dehumanising" campaign targeting the documentary.
The film, titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, sparked waves of criticism and claims of bias after it emerged one of the key people featured in the programme was the son of a Hamas leader.
Speaking to GB News, broadcaster Danny Kelly hit out at Lineker for teaming up with the Artists for Palestine UK movement, branding it "mental".
Danny Kelly hit out at Gary Lineker's 'arrogance' in defending the BBC's controversial Gaza documentary
GB News / PA
Kelly told host Martin Daubney: "The whole thing is mental. I've read that letter - I haven't seen the documentary because it's been lifted from the iPlayer, but after working for nearly two decades at the BBC, I can tell you there are two things that the BBC are loathe to do.
"One is apologise, and the second is actually to pull something from the iPlayer, so they've actually done both on this occasion."
Taking aim at Lineker, Kelly fumed that Lineker has become a "political activist on the licence fee payer's cash".
Kelly fumed: "It's the arrogance. I love Gary Lineker, the footballer - I'm an Everton fan, but I can't have by Gary Lineker, the political activist on licence fee payer's cash. And bosses will be vindicated that they haven't offered Lineker a new contract."
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Lineker joined other celebs in calling for the documentary to be returned to screensGettyHighlighting Lineker's limited future at the BBC, Kelly claimed that the star is doing "more harm than good" for the broadcaster's reputation.
Kelly stated: "Make no mistake, that wasn't Lineker's decision to step down, that was the boss's decision, because he was causing more harm to the future of the licence fee than any defund the BBC organisation.
"It's the arrogance - all the BBC are asking for is a period of time to actually just check, do due diligence, make sure no editorial guidelines were broken, make sure no palms were greased with the making of this documentary."
In defence of the BBC, Kelly added: "They haven't said that they're going to pull it permanently, all they're saying is, listen, we just want to make sure that due diligence was carried through. That's all they're saying.
Kelly told GB News that Lineker was doing 'more harm to the BBC than any defund organisation'
GB News
"Lineker is way ahead of himself, it's the arrogance of the man and the 499 other media luvvies. They should just take a step back and actually understand what the BBC is saying.
"Not often will I defend the BBC, but all the BBC are doing is saying, look, just take a take a moment. We just need to make sure we've done things right and until we have that information, we've pulled it. It's as simple as that."
The BBC has said in a statement: "There have been continuing questions raised about the programme and in the light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company."
The broadcaster added that while these were "important stories we think should be told", the programme would not be available during the investigation.
