Rishi Sunak suffers a blow after George Osborne backs Gary Lineker in migrant controversy

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Former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne has backed Gary Lineker amid controversy over his comments on Rishi Sunak's new immigration plan in a blow to the Prime Minister.

George Osborne supported Gary Lineker, criticizing the rhetoric around asylum policy by some members of his party.

"I personally think that some of the language used on immigration by some Conservatives - not all - is not acceptable," he told Channel's The Andrew Neil Show 4.

Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker (Lucy North/PA)

(PA Wire)

"I have a lot of sympathy for Tim Davie, the chief executive, who is trying to maintain the impartiality of the BBC in partisan times. But it all ended a bit in disarray."

This comes after Rishi Sunak set out new plans to tackle illegal migration to the UK, which include a nearly half a billion pound plan with France to address the crisis.

The Prime Minister and Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, vowed to 'stop the boats' as they unveiled the Illegal Migration Bill this week.

The draft of law obliges the Minister of the Interior to organize the e removal of people who have come to the UK without permission if they have not arrived directly from a country where their freedom is at risk.

Football commentator Gary Lineker has been embroiled in a row in impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new g...