The BBC and Lineker

sir – What became a contest between Gary Lineker and the BBC would have ended much better if both parties had agreed that they had lost. They could then have agreed that they would work together to clarify the impartiality rules for BBC employees.

What happened instead was that Tim Davie, the BBC’S director-general, apologised, which is to say he admitted to being in the wrong. Mr Lineker, on the other hand, issued a statement with no hint of acknowledging anything other than being right.

No organisation can allow itself to be seen as having a director-general who is in thrall to one of its employees, let alone a freelancer, as distinct from a direct employee. Mr Davie has made the job impossible for anyone other than a character strong enough to deal robustly with Mr Lineker – if indeed it is possible to find such a person.

Philip Lloyd Yarm, North Yorkshire

sir – As former and current BBC Young Musician winners, we write to express our disbelief at the decision not only to cut 20 per cent of posts across the English BBC orchestras, but also to disband the BBC Singers.

The Singers are the very ensemble that the BBC says it seeks. Their agility and flexibility are world class, and their unique skill set is in no small part down to the stable, salaried, core group who sing together daily. This is not found anywhere else in the UK, and it allows them to tackle a huge variety of projects, from complex contemporary music to performing as backing singers for the Pet Shop Boys.

They are recognised worldwide as advocates of choral singing and are an inspiration to the millions of amateur singers in the UK. They help to sustain the work of living composers, give workshops and performances, and are tireless in their quest to bring choral singing to as many children as possible. Their budget is equivalent to 10,000 licence fees, yet the petition for them on Change.org stands at over 100,000 signatures. They should be cherished, not abolished.

Similarly, the decision to cut one in five players from the BBC Symphony, Concert and Philharmonic orchestras is baffling, even in the current financial climate. It contradicts the BBC’S aims, especially in terms of the quality and diversity of repertoire it presumably wants to invest in, but also because it stifles possibilities to perform the greatest repertoire at the highest possible standard, and makes it even harder for classroom teachers to keep music in children’s lives.

At a time when far more people from previously excluded groups, including women and people of colour, are finding their voices being heard as composers, we have never needed the BBC orchestras’ and the BBC Singers’ skills in handling new music more. We fear that this erosion of classical music in the UK, following the savage cuts to Arts Council funding, will do permanent harm.

Tim Davie says he is in listening mode. We hope he will listen, not only to us, but also to the many thousands of people who oppose these decisions.

Nicola Benedetti Natalie Clein Nicholas Daniel and 19 others; see telegraph.co.uk