BBC Newswatch host Samira Ahmed wins landmark equal pay case over Jeremy Vine being paid six times more
SAMIRA Ahmed has won a sex discrimination equal pay claim against the BBC.
The Newswatch host was told she should have got the same as Jeremy Vine, who earned £3,000 an episode for Points Of View.
Samira, 51, insisted their roles were comparable — but the BBC argued it was not similar work.
Yesterday, an employment tribunal ruled in favour of Samira, who earned just £465 an episode, saying: “The difference in pay in this case is striking.”
It said Jeremy, 54, just had to read from a script, adding: “If it told him to roll his eyes he did. It did not require any particular skill or experience to do
that.”
But the tribunal did not say whether Samira should get the £700,000 she said she was owed.
The ruling, following a hearing in November in London, will have major implications for BBC pay.
Ms Ahmed said: “I’m now looking forward to reporting on stories and not being one.”
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Carrie Gracie, who quit as BBC China editor two years ago over pay, told her: “I could not be more proud of you.
"I hope your victory gives courage to women to stand up for the value of their work.”
But the BBC insisted: “We have always believed that the pay of Samira and Jeremy Vine was not determined by their gender.”
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