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Gary Lineker scores a victory over the taxman

(Credit: Getty images)

The good news just keeps coming for Gary Lineker. The Match of the Day host has won his appeal against HMRC over a £4.9 million tax bill. The taxman claimed Lineker was an employee of both the BBC and BT Sport – and that, as a result, he owed them money. But a judge ruled that Lineker was a freelancer and threw out HMRC’s case.

Lineker’s tribunal victory comes after he emerged victorious from his scrap with the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie over his tweets. The TV host was taken off the air after criticising the government’s asylum policy. But he returned to the show a week later after his fellow football presenters staged a boycott over Lineker’s treatment. Talking about the incident this week, Lineker said he ‘had a tear in my eye’ when he learned his fellow presenters Ian Wright and Alan Shearer had pulled out of the show.

Lineker is the BBC’s highest-paid star and earned about £1.35

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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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