The BBC will have the power to suspend employees' Twitter accounts - and fire staff who break impartiality rules, the new director-general has said.

Tim Davie announced "imminent" rules would be implemented covering those working in news, current affairs and beyond when he appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee today.

"I am prepared to take the appropriate disciplinary action, all the way to termination," Mr Davie said.

“We are going to be publishing in the next few weeks, and this is imminent, clear social media guidelines, and they will cover both news and current affairs, and beyond news and current affairs.

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“We will have, within those guidelines, the enforcement policies will be very clear."

He added: “If they want to work for the BBC, I can ask people, you would suspend their Twitter account, absolutely.”

It comes after presenter Gary Lineker attracted controversy for sharing his political views on Twitter.

Lineker has dismissed suggestions he has been asked to tweet more carefully.

Addressing the issue, Mr Davie said: “I would note that Gary Lineker has actually been very clear in his statements recently, saying ‘I understand I have responsibilities when working at the BBC’.

“Those responsibilities will be clearly laid out and my belief is, as I say, I am now the director-general so I am running the show, and in my view party political statements are not the right thing for people to be making if they are, as part of an impartial news organisation.

“I mean, we will come back with social media guidelines to make clear where the lines are.

“If someone is a face of the BBC I think entering into party politics seems to be not the right place to be and I’ve been very clear about that.”

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Mr Davie later added: “The good thing is I will be making that even clearer as I go through my social media guidelines.”

The BBC has warned that switching to a civil system for the licence fee would cost the broadcaster more than £200 million a year.