Ahmed: I’m so sorry Vine has been dragged into BBC pay dispute

BBC presenter Samira Ahmed has said she is sorry Jeremy Vine has been pulled into her equal pay claim.

The Newswatch presenter is facing the BBC in an employment tribunal, pursuing nearly £700,000 from the corporation.

She claims she was paid a sixth of what Vine earned while he was presenting Points Of View, a programme she deems similar to her own.

The BBC disagrees the shows and presenters are comparable and is arguing the claim should be dismissed because the show she presents is not as popular.

During her evidence yesterday, Ahmed said she was “incredibly grateful” to Vine as she believed a reduction in his pay was sparked by her equal pay complaint.

Vine’s salary for Points Of View was more than halved in 2018, the year he left the show.

The corporation said his fee was renegotiated from £3,000 per episode to £1,300 due to the programme’s budget being re

Tribunal: Samira Ahmed

duced and the format being under reconsideration.

Ahmed said she had already raised the issue of pay verbally before October 2017, when her first email to BBC bosses argued Vine was her pay comparator.

“I was in contact with Jeremy and I messaged him around this time,” she told the tribunal.

“I told him I had an equal pay issue and I know under law you can ask a colleague (their salary) if there’s an issue about pay.

“He did not get back to me for seven months. We had a phone conversation and he explained it was very awkward as the salary negotiation was going on when I contacted him. He said he was aware there was a connection.”

During evidence at the Central London Employment Tribunal, Rachel Crasnow QC, for the BBC, asked Ahmed why she had not included the phone call with Vine in her written statement.

“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to go to tribunal,” she replied. “My issue is with the BBC, not with Jeremy Vine. I’m incredibly grateful to him as a colleague. I don’t want it to be about him and I’m sorry his name has been dragged into this.”

Ahmed’s claim is in relation to being paid £440 per episode for Newswatch on the BBC News channel. She is seeking a back pay claim of £693,245 for programmes between November 2012 and February 2019.

The BBC has said Ahmed was paid the same as her predecessor Ray Snoddy, who they refer to as her pay comparator.

But Ahmed argues that she should have been paid more than Snoddy, claiming to be a “much more experienced broadcaster”.

The case continues.