David Sillito
Media and Arts correspondent

On Friday, the two sides looked to be at loggerheads, three days later, apparent sweet agreement. What has happened?

The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, says the decision to pull Gary Lineker off air was always about buying some time until they could come to an agreement over his political tweets.

He says Lineker has agreed to abide by the guidance while an independent review takes place.

As with all guidance, the challenge will be how that is interpreted. But there seems to be an agreement on both sides to try to calm things down while the rules are examined.

The disruption to programmes clearly surprised the BBC’s top managers.

They were probably expecting that Match of the Day might look a bit different, but other programmes dropping off the schedules and being radically truncated is a pretty clear sign that there are many within the BBC who feel Gary Lineker has been treated unfairly.

There are also those who are furious that such a highly paid star has not been punished for describing a statement by the home secretary on a key matter of public policy as "beyond awful."

The promise of a review may have taken the heat out of the current turmoil, but as soon as the findings are announced, millions will be watching Gary Lineker’s tweets very carefully.

Image source, Reuters

Reporters have been outside Gary Lineker's house this morning shortly after his Match of the Day return was announced.

Taking his dog out for a walk, Lineker told reporters: "I've already said what I'm going to say on Twitter.

"If I say anything more now it just encourages people to doorstep me."

He refused to respond as reporters shouted out questions at him: "Do you stand by what you said?", "Have you won?", "Is this a victory for common sense?" and "Has Tim Davie apologised to you personally?".

"Right that's enough - you've got your pictures", he told photographers.

Image source, EPA

The BBC Board says it welcomes the agreement reached with Gary Lineker.

“The Board welcomes the fact that the Executive has reached an agreement following the disruption of the weekend," a statement says.

“Impartiality is a cornerstone of the BBC. We believe this is the right time to look at the clarity of the BBC’s social media guidance and how it is applied.

"We will support the Executive in its continuing work to ensure the organisation delivers world-class, impartial content for all audiences.”

Richard Sharp, who sits on the board as non-executive chair of the BBC, is facing fresh calls to resign following the impartiality row. He is yet to comment.

BBC media correspondent David Sillito has just been explaining what this all means for the corporation and Gary Lineker on the BBC News Channel.

He says the agreement the two parties have reached on this matter effectively "kicks the can down the road".

He adds that Lineker may be back on air, but he has agreed not to tweet about party political matters while a review of the BBC's social media guidance takes place.

Sillito agrees that what constitutes 'party political' can be interpreted in many ways, adding: "The ability for people to be upset by anything you say, especially on Twitter, is almost infinite.

"There is an agreement at the moment that some of the heat has been taken out of this for the time being."

Match of the Day commentator Conor McNamara, who pulled out of working over the weekend as a result of the row, has weighed in with quip which will resonate with basically all football fans.

Writing on Twitter, he jokes, external: "Now… can we go back to arguing about VAR?"

For those of you following this story who aren't fans of the beautiful game, this stands for "video assistant referee" - the rarely uncontroversial system of checking major decisions made by officials on the pitch for top-flight games.

Image source, PA Media

All BBC staff have received an email from the director general Tim Davie in the last hour about the resolution that's just been announced.

"I want to acknowledge how challenging the last few days have been and to say how grateful I am for all your work during this weekend’s disruption."

He tells staff that it was a "difficult balancing act to get right where people are subject to different contracts and on-air positions, and with different audience and social media profiles."

But, he says he recognises that "there are grey areas which has caused potential confusion," so a review on the BBC's social media guidance will go ahead with a focus on how it applies to freelancers outside news and current affairs.

"Gary is in favour of such a review and I’m pleased that he will be back on air this coming weekend."

"We’ve had a difficult weekend. But it’s right that we listen and that we ask ourselves questions to ensure that we continue to fight for a BBC that delivers world-class, impartial output for all audiences."

Image source, PA Media

Lineker's next appearance for the BBC will be the coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final clash between Manchester City and Burnley.

The match will kick off on Saturday at 17:45 GMT, with coverage from the Etihad Stadium on BBC One starting at 17:25 GMT.

Alastair Campbell, politics podcast host and once Tony Blair's director of communications, has been speaking to the BBC about Lineker's return as Match of the Day host.

Campbell's Rest is Politics podcast is produced by Goalhanger Podcasts, a company co-owned by Lineker.

He says it's "very good news" and a "complete and total vindication for Gary Lineker."

Director general Tim Davie handled a "very difficult situation very badly at first, but has then recognised the mistake the BBC has made and has sought to rectify it, and that's a good thing."

There are lessons in this for the BBC, he adds, as this is about "much more" than Gary Lineker.

"When you are subject to this right-wing political pressure, you should resist it and stand up to it, not pander to it."

Gary Lineker hasn't quite finished tweeting - he's now thanked BBC Director General Tim Davie's "understanding during this difficult period".

The Match of the Day presenter writes Davie "has an almost impossible job keeping everybody happy, particularly in the area of impartiality".

"I am delighted that we’ll continue to fight the good fight, together," Lineker adds.

Director General Tim Davie has been asked if he "bowed to pressure" from Tory MPs and Conservative media organisations in the Gary Lineker row.

Davie denies this and says while "it's a convenient narrative, it's not true".

Acknowledging his former involvement with the Conservative Party, he says there was "some political involvement" 30 years ago.

Davie adds he "was absolutely not affected by pressure from one party or the other. That is not how we work editorially in the BBC".

"The impartiality guidelines would be equally applied in terms of being critical of the left or the right. The issue is getting involved in party political matters and we apply that independently."

In his interview with the BBC's David Sillito, director general Tim Davie said it was a "significant thing" to take Gary Lineker off the air but he wanted to "move forward" and resolve things.

He also said Lineker had agreed to abide by the current guidelines while a review of the BBC's social media guidance takes place.

However he has acknowledged the current rules have "grey areas" so it's unclear how that might play out.

Here's more from director general Tim Davie, who has been speaking to BBC media correspondent David Sillito.

"I've always said we need to take proportionate action, for some people by the way we've taken too severe action, others think we're being too lenient."

Asking Gary Lineker to step aside was appropriate and the "right thing" to do.

"How are you so out of touch with your own corporation, your own organisation, your own staff, your own programmes, you didn't foresee this complete chaos that's happened" David Sillito then asks.

"I respect the views of the sports teams, they obviously were put in a very difficult situation." the DG responds.

If you talk to people across the BBC, they "are all very passionate about our standing as an impartial broadcaster."

This affair shows how "polarised" the debate has gone, he adds.

"I want to fight for a BBC where we can have proper calm debate to facilitate free speech."

Here's a bit more from what director general Tim Davie had to say in his statement about balancing the BBC's commitments to both impartiality and freedom of expression.

A reminder - he's announced an independent review of the social media guidance.

Image source, PA Media

We've also been hearing from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer this morning.

He has accused the BBC of being in a mess and repeated that its Chairman Richard Sharp's position is becoming "increasingly untenable".

Speaking to journalists just before it was announced Lineker would return to Match of the Day, Starmer says this is a "mess of the BBC's own making".

Starmer tells broadcasters the public would wonder: "How on Earth is he still in position but Gary Lineker has been taken off air?"

An ongoing KC-led review into Richard Sharp’s appointment as BBC chairman is investigating whether he failed to properly disclose details of his involvement in the facilitation of an £800,000 loan guarantee for the then-prime minister Boris Johnson. He has denied any involvement in the arrangement of a loan for Johnson.

The BBC is also conducting its own internal review over any potential conflicts of interest Sharp may have in his current role as BBC chairman.

Lineker has finished his statement on Twitter now, concluding with a final fourth post:

Our Media Correspondent David Sillito has been speaking to BBC Director General Tim Davie. We'll have more from that interview in a moment but here's a breaking line.

Davie says: “Gary has agreed to abide by the guidance whilst the independent review takes place."

We're yet to have Lineker himself confirm this but he's tweeting a thread out right now.

Gary Lineker has put his response to the news of a deal, appropriately, on his Twitter account.

The first of four posts says:

The BBC Director General Tim Davie has announced there will be review, led by an independent expert reporting to the BBC, on its existing social media guidance, with a particular focus on how it applies to freelancers outside news and current affairs.

The director general says the BBC and Gary are "in favour of such a review."

The BBC’s current social media guidance will remain in place while the work is completed and who will carry the review out will be announced "shortly", Davie adds.