A high proportion of top earners at the BBC have railed against Brexit and controlled migration, voicing broadly left-wing views.
With Wednesday’s disclosure of BBC salaries, funded by ordinary Brits forced to pay the TV license fee, many people have a renewed interest in the views promoted by those they sustain.
Strikingly, the list of 100 BBC employees contains few right-wingers or prominent supporters of Brexit – Andrew Neil, who edits the pro-Brexit magazine The Spectator, being perhaps a lonely exception.
Gary Lineker – £1,750,000-£1,799,999
The former footballer and presenter was the second most highly-paid person at the BBC.
In recent months, he has become a well known pro-mass migration activist, accusing people who disagree with him of being racist and bigoted.
He famously called those questioning the age of so-called “child migrants” arriving in the UK from Calais “hideously racist” and spread fake claims that older-looking migrants were, in fact, adult interpreters.
On Brexit, Mr Lineker retweeted messages containing the hashtag #StopBrexit, and said he was “ashamed of my generation” after the vote to leave the European Union (EU).
He also wrote that “none of us knew the consequences at the time of the [referendum]”, adding, “As the picture becomes clearer it’s hard to see a single positive.”
He further angered Brexit supporters by joking that they would all be dead within in 10 years on the BBC show Have I Got News For You.
Chris Evans – £2,200,000-£2,249,999
The best-paid man the BBC, Evans recently quit his position after destroying the ratings of Top Gear, previously the corporation’s best grossing show, during his short period as host.
Mr Evans also appears to be a committed left-winger. He pledged a whopping £100,000 in 2000 to former London Mayor ‘Red’ Ken Livingston – a committed ally of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who was recently suspended from the party for alleged anti-Semitism.
Graham Norton – £850,000-£899,999
The flamboyant presenter was another face at the BBC strongly opposed to leaving the EU. He blamed the vote on the elderly, suggested voters were duped by a “pack of lies”, and called for a second referendum.
“I was astonished that people bought the pack of lies they were sold and I feel sorry for the people who voted for it because they were lied to,” Mr Norton told the Irish ‘Late Late’ host Ryan Tubridy.
“What is so sad about Brexit is that people over 60 – because it was people over 60 passed that thing – closed so many doors on young people and shut down options”, he added.
Simon Schama – £150,000-199,999
The historian and broadcaster has relentlessly agitated against Brexit, claiming the nation will be much diminished when it leaves the EU.
He has also demanded that more migrants are allowed into the UK, even if they are not genuine refugees.
Brian Cox – £250,000-299,999
The presenter, astrophysicist, and former musician shared an anti-Brexit article with his thousands of followers on social media and claimed the nation would take years to “recover” from the vote to leave the EU.
Alan Yentob – £250,000-299,999
He received his huge salary for presenting the little-known arts show ‘Imagine’.
A known left-winger, he has urged the nation to take more migrants and was a chairman of the disgraced charity Kids Company, which squandered millions in taxpayers money.
The now defunct organisation also spent cash on helping illegal migrants stay in the UK.
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