Fatboy Slim applauds Gary Lineker during set in Manchester

Fatboy Slim applauded Gary Lineker during his set in Manchester last night (Friday 10 March), after the football pundit was removed from BBC's Match Of The Day for tweeting in opposition to the UK government's new Illegal immigration bill.

The veteran DJ and producer, real name Norman Cook, tweeted a video taken from the audience of his headline set at the O2 Victoria Warehouse with the caption: "Enough respect #ImWithGary."

In the video, Cook is silhouetted by visuals of a number of famous figures such as Prince and Greta Thumberg, before a shot of Gary Lineker.

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The 'Right Here Right Now' producer is seen stepping away from the decks to clap, with the audience joining in.

The move was in response to Lineker's removal from the BBC's Match of The Day for his comments around the UK government's new Illegal Immigration Bill.

The new bill is set to "tackle" illegal immigration by preventing those who enter the country illegally from claiming asylum, therefore removing protections for anyone trafficked into the country.

The former England captain and Match of the Day host had tweeted: "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?"

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Following pressure from a number of right wing commentators, the BBC announced that it would be removing Lineker from his presenter slot on the football programme due to a "breach of impartiality guidelines."

Following the removal, a number of football pundits and commentators - including Lineker's MOTD co-hosts Alan Shearer and Ian Wright - have refused to appear on the BBC's football coverage in solidarity.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter