Gary Lineker has sparked fury with his failure to comment on Hamas’s atrocities in Israel.
The BBC presenter has so far refrained from using his social media platform to comment on the terror attack despite often being a vocal commentator on an array of political matters.
The Match of the Day star got himself into hot water with his bosses in March when he likened the language used in a Government asylum policy launch to 1930s Germany.
The closest Lineker has got to commenting on the war in Israel so far was by promoting The Rest Is Politics podcast, where former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and failed Tory leadership candidate Rory Stewart discussed the ongoing conflict.
Emma Webb has hit out at Gary Lineker
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Broadcaster Emma Webb hit out at the presenter’s “silence”, arguing people should be “pulling no punches” in their condemnation of Hamas.
“We’ve seen women being raped as if that is some kind of legitimate weapon of war”, she said.
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“Yet mysteriously, all of the usual suspects who speak out against any sort of sexism or perceived fascism or migrant rights, suddenly there is tumbleweed everywhere.”
Pressed by GB News presenter Bev Turner to “give some names”, Webb stated that Lineker is one notable absentee from the list of “opinionated” public figures to have opted against making a statement.
“He hasn’t said anything, he posted something about it in relation to a podcast”, she said.
“He hasn’t spoken out against the abuses of women as a weapon of war or anything like that.
Emma Webb, Richard Tice, Bev Turner and Stephen Pound spoke about notable public names who have so far failed to condemn Hamas
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“I found the silence of the usual suspects absolutely despicable.”
It comes as a protester scaled Sheffield town hall to remove the Israel flag in a show of support for Palestine.
Webb added that Jewish people witnessing the incident would be “terrified” at the extent of support for Palestine shown in the streets of Britain.
“What has happened in Israel is horrific”, she said.
More than 1,000 people died in Saturday's terror attackREUTERS“These people who are not only celebrating it but are raising the flag in celebration on a public building is despicable, and that man should be arrested.”
The upper echelons of the British political establishment have warned that people seen to be backing Hamas could be arrested.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to embolden police officers by assuring that UK-based Hamas supporters will be held to account.
He reminded the public that Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and facilitated a deadly attack on Israel at the weekend, is a “proscribed terror organisation” banned in the UK.
Police separated pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups in west London on Monday evening, with the flare-up of the conflict sparking reaction in British communities.
The death toll from Hamas attacks has now reached 1,200 people, with a further 2,700 injured, according to the Israel Defence Forces.
Israel’s counterattacks on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 900 people, the Gaza Health Ministry said yesterday, including 260 children.
Hamas’s surprise assault on Israel has prompted the country to declare war on the terrorist faction.
