Mr Lineker has put his ill-advised awe in again:

Millionaire Gary Lineker is accused of 'mocking the poor' with 'heartless' tweet about 'taking a pay cut' from his £1.3m BBC salary in response to corporation hiking cost of licence fee
BBC has announced the cost of the TV licence will go up from £157.50 to £159
It came after over 75s were told they would no longer get it for free
Lineker joked he was surprised after he took a pay cut to be on £1.3million
By DAN SALES and ALEX MASON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:55, 9 February 2021 | UPDATED: 12:57, 9 February 2021

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BBC star Gary Lineker was today accused of 'mocking the poor' after joking about his £1.3million salary in response to the corporation ramping up the cost of the licence fee.

The former England player, 60, responded to news of the hike from £157.50 to £159 on Twitter with 'But, but I've just taken a pay cut', followed with a zany face emoticon.

But his attempt at a joke misfired badly and saw him described as 'heartless' and 'missing the mood of the public'.
Even fans, who said they usually supported him, thought the comment was ill-advised adding 'Your timing isn't great, Gary'.

It comes just months after three million over 75-year-olds were told they would no longer get free TV licences.

Dennis Reed, director of pensioner pressure group Silver Voices, who campaigned against it, told MailOnline: 'There will be some of our members who respond angrily to those comments. I would welcome the support from all celebrities for our cause.
And on Twitter social media users formed a chorus of disapproval over the remarks.

Paul Stead said: 'Poor joke that. It's okay for you millionaires but there is a lot of people who struggle daily and have to rely on foodbanks so even though the rise is nothing to you and other millionaires it's a lot of money for some people.'

DJ Doc Scott took a harder line adding 'I usually like you and like what you have to say but on this you can go and F*** yourself, is that 'funny' enough for you?'

Jamie sense said: 'And with one heartless tweet Gary has just cancelled the extra income the BBC would have likely made.
As he is mocking the poor it is now a moral obligation from me and I'm sure many others to cancel the licence with immediate effect. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!'

Another declared: 'I know you are having banter, and I for one don't mind that. But in these desperate times, where a lot of people are struggling financially and mentally, your timing isn't great Gary.'

And Barrister Edward Levey QC weighed in to add: 'I really hope this is your Gerald Ratner moment.'

Ratner saw £500million wiped from the value of his jewellery firm after he told an audience the secret of its beloved low-cost items 'How can you sell this for such a low price?, I say, because it's total crap.'