Samira Ahmed tribunal: BBC should have paid female presenter as much as Jeremy Vine, rules judge

Presenter Samira Ahmed has won her sex discrimination equal pay claim against the BBC, a judge at the London Central Employment Tribunal has ruled.

Ms Ahmed had argued that her pay for presenting Newswatch should have been equal to Jeremy Vine's pay for presenting Points of View.

Employment Judge H Grewal and panel members Mr S Godecharle and Mr P Secher ruled unanimously that the BBC had failed to prove the difference in her pay Mr Vine was "because of a material factor which did not involve subjecting the claimant to sex discrimination".

Ms Ahmed was paid £465 per episode of her programme while Mr Vine received £3,000 for his.

Following the ruling, Ms Ahmed said in a statement: "No woman wants to have to take action against their own employer. I love working for the BBC. I'm glad it's been resolved.

"I'd like to thank my union the NUJ, especially Michelle Stanistreet the general secretary, my legal team Caroline Underhill of Thompsons Solicitors and my barrister Claire Darwin and everyone - all the men and women who've supported me and the issue of equal pay. I'm now looking forward to continuing to do my job, to report on stories and not being one."

The BBC argued the two presenters were not doing similar work.

A 40-page judgment said the BBC failed to show there was a difference between the two programmes.

After the decision, the BBC said Ms Ahmed "is an excellent journalist and presenter, and we regret that this case ever had to go to tribunal".

The statement continued: "We're committed to equality and equal pay. Where we've found equal pay cases in the past we've put them right. However, for us, this case was never about one person, but the way different types of programmes across the media industry attract different levels of pay.

"We have always believed that the pay of Samira and Jeremy Vine was not determined by their gender. Presenters - female as well as male - had always been paid more on Points of View than Newswatch.

"We're sorry the tribunal didn't think the BBC provided enough evidence about specific decisions - we weren't able to call people who made decisions as far back as 2008 and have long since left the BBC.

"In the past, our pay framework was not transparent and fair enough, and we have made significant changes to address that; we're glad this satisfied the tribunal that there was sufficient evidence to explain her pay now.

"We'll need to consider this judgment carefully. We know tribunals are never a pleasant experience for anyone involved. We want to work together with Samira to move on in a positive way."

BBC Radio 4 presenter Jane Garvey wrote on Twitter: "Just brilliant @SamiraAhmedUK - it took real courage and she has it. #equalpay."

Labour MP David Lammy commented: "Congrats @SamiraAhmedUK. Equal work deserves equal pay."

Ms Ahmed has received support from other public figures including broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, lawyer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger.

She has been among the female talent at the BBC voicing concerns over pay equality following the outcry over former China editor Carrie Gracie's salary.

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