Lineker 3, BBC 0

Match of the Day presenter's hat-trick: 1 He gets his job back 2 He makes no apology 3 He immediately tweets again about small boats ...as BBC says sorry and promises social media review

Gary Lineker will return to presenting Match of the Day after the BBC apologised for suspending him in an impartiality row that has rocked the corporation. Lineker got to keep his job but made no apology for his tweet likening the language used to launch a new small boats asylum policy to 1930s Germany – and tweeted again about the plight of refugees within minutes of being reinstated. BBC director general Tim Davie said the presenter “will abide by the editorial guidelines” until an independent review of the BBC’s social media policy is complete. “This has been a difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters and, most importantly, our audiences. I apologise for this,” he said. It comes as Sir Keir Starmer said Richard Sharp, the BBC chair, should step down as he too is under investigation over impartiality, while Conservative MPs hit out at the corporation for backing down. Craig Mackinlay, MP for South Thanet, told The Independent: “The BBC climbdown with an apology and carte blanche [for Lineker] to do as he pleases on social media is remarkable.”