A factor in the BBC’s refusal to cast the presenter adrift could be the continuing success of his podcasts, which appear on Sounds

The video Lineker re-posted then deleted featured a cartoon rat, an antisemitic trope that harks back to 1930s Germany. The rat was overlaid on an explainer of the Israel-Gaza war presented by Canadian-Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu. Screenshots showed it being flagged up on X as hate speech.

Gary Lineker has "apologised unreservedly" after being criticised for sharing a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat. "On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references," he said in a statement. "I very much regret these references.