
The difference in circumstances is that Lineker is a BBC employee, and Packham is a contractor apparently. Only those with knowledge of the wording of their respective contracts (duly checked by legal teams and agents before being signed I have no doubt) would know how this could affect the Corporations' dealings with each.
What I do know from what little I have seen of Lineker on the news these last few days is that he seems to be the sort of guy that would have found himself being thumped quite a lot had he attended my old school.
