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BBC accused of discrimination as salaries reveal gender pay gap - live BBC accused of discrimination as salaries reveal gender pay gap - live
(35 minutes later)
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Here’s a roundup of the main points after the publication of the BBC’s top salaries.
Chris Evans was paid at least £2.2m by the BBC last year while Gary Lineker collected more than £1.75m and Graham Norton more than £850,000, according to figures published by the corporation. Evans said it was “right and proper” that the public knows how much he his senior colleagues are paid.
The list of 96 top earners exposed a series of gender disparities on pay in sports coverage, news, radio and TV. Only a third of the top earners are female and the top seven are all male.
Lawyers have warned that the BBC is now exposed to sex discrimination claims by its female presenters. Labour’s Harriet Harman urged the BBC to stop using public money to discriminate against women.
BBC director general, Tony Hall, says he is committed to closing the gender pay gap at the BBC by 2020. “By 2020 we will have equality between men and women on air, and we will also have the pay gap sorted by then too,” he said.
Culutre secretary Karen Bradley presented the issue of openness about BBC salaries as one of promoting equality rather than squeezing the resources of the corporation. But opponents of the BBC have been using the salaries to attack the corporation and scrap the licence fee.
Theresa May took a dig at the BBC high earners to deflect a question about pay in the public sector. Speaking at prime minister’s questions she said: “as we see today there are some people in public sector who are being very well paid”.
The union representing low-paid production workers at the BBC is stepping up demands for a minimum salary of 20,000. Gerry Morrissey, leader of Bectu, said: “There should be a lot more focus on giving low-paid staff a decent living wage.”
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The DUP’s Sammy Wilson, one of 10 MPs propping up the government after a promise of £1bn for Northern Ireland, has attacked the BBC’s top salaries as “a national disgrace”.
In a series of statements published on his Twitter account he said: “This is just another example of the champagne socialism which permeates many public sector organisations and is yet another reason whey the unfair licence fee ought to be abolished and the BBC made to earn its money rather than it be gifted to it from those who often cannot pay.”
Red faces and fat wallets at the BBC! pic.twitter.com/DIf6EPoBs2
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Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said it was “a disgrace” that the BBC was required to disclose salaries and she could not defend Tory policy on the issue.Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said it was “a disgrace” that the BBC was required to disclose salaries and she could not defend Tory policy on the issue.
The Broxtowe MP told BBC Radio 5 Live Daily’s Adrian Chiles: “This story is a disgrace, not because of figures but the fact that it’s ever been published.The Broxtowe MP told BBC Radio 5 Live Daily’s Adrian Chiles: “This story is a disgrace, not because of figures but the fact that it’s ever been published.
“I take objection on behalf of these people who have had their names and their salaries exposed in this completely undignified way.“I take objection on behalf of these people who have had their names and their salaries exposed in this completely undignified way.
“What this will do is that it will stoke up the politics of envy ... People will say, well, why is a nurse worth less than Gary Lineker or Chris Evans, and that’s a completely meaningless debate.“What this will do is that it will stoke up the politics of envy ... People will say, well, why is a nurse worth less than Gary Lineker or Chris Evans, and that’s a completely meaningless debate.
“So the BBC should be ashamed of themselves, they should never have agreed to this, it shouldn’t have been done.”“So the BBC should be ashamed of themselves, they should never have agreed to this, it shouldn’t have been done.”
Other MPs have been alarmed by gender pay gap exposed in the list. Labour’s Tracy Brabin picks out examples we mentioned earlier.Other MPs have been alarmed by gender pay gap exposed in the list. Labour’s Tracy Brabin picks out examples we mentioned earlier.
BBC gender pay gap is shocking. They must move to improve the situation very, very quickly. Some stark examples in the picture! pic.twitter.com/fX9adosLcEBBC gender pay gap is shocking. They must move to improve the situation very, very quickly. Some stark examples in the picture! pic.twitter.com/fX9adosLcE
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The Guardian has published a searchable list of all the 96 BBC stars earning more than £150,000.The Guardian has published a searchable list of all the 96 BBC stars earning more than £150,000.
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The government is presenting the issue of openness about BBC salaries as one of promoting equality rather than squeezing the resources of the corporation.The government is presenting the issue of openness about BBC salaries as one of promoting equality rather than squeezing the resources of the corporation.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley told BBC News: “Transparency is really important in uncovering where there are things that are perhaps not as fair and equal as they should be.Culture Secretary Karen Bradley told BBC News: “Transparency is really important in uncovering where there are things that are perhaps not as fair and equal as they should be.
“We have the opportunity to see where there’s maybe gender pay gaps, and where there’s issues about BAME presenters perhaps not being paid as much as others.”“We have the opportunity to see where there’s maybe gender pay gaps, and where there’s issues about BAME presenters perhaps not being paid as much as others.”
She added: “I’m really pleased that Director General Tony Hall has said that he welcomes this because he wants to make sure that they do deal with any misrepresentation of women, of any under payment of anybody and that we get that gender pay gap dealt with.”She added: “I’m really pleased that Director General Tony Hall has said that he welcomes this because he wants to make sure that they do deal with any misrepresentation of women, of any under payment of anybody and that we get that gender pay gap dealt with.”
Bradley also claimed that publication of salaries would have deflationary impact on the BBC pay bill. She said: “From the anecdotal evidence that we have seen people are asking for their pay to be reduced because they are very conscious of how this looks to the public.Bradley also claimed that publication of salaries would have deflationary impact on the BBC pay bill. She said: “From the anecdotal evidence that we have seen people are asking for their pay to be reduced because they are very conscious of how this looks to the public.
“If you look at the civil service or politicians, transparency has not led to pay inflation, quite the opposite. It is for license fee payers to determine whether they think this is good value for money or not.“If you look at the civil service or politicians, transparency has not led to pay inflation, quite the opposite. It is for license fee payers to determine whether they think this is good value for money or not.
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Here’s an answer to one of the questions we put to you earlier:Here’s an answer to one of the questions we put to you earlier:
The reason the BBC was told to publish the list of top earners was to demonstrate whether it is delivering value for money - in other words, whether it pays in line with the market. Given that no other broadcaster publishes the pay of its stars this is difficult to prove, but Tony Hall, the director general, insists the BBC aims to pay people at a discount to the market while Gary Lineker, one of the top earners, insists he has been offered more lucrative deals to leave. One publicly available pay deal is for Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, who gets £1.5m a year - which would put him second on the BBC’s list behind Chris Evans. The reason the BBC was told to publish the list of top earners was to demonstrate whether it is delivering value for money - in other words, whether it pays in line with the market. Given that no other broadcaster publishes the pay of its stars this is difficult to prove, but Tony Hall, the director general, insists the BBC aims to pay people at a discount to the market while Gary Lineker, one of the top earners, insists he has been offered more lucrative deals to leave. One publicly available pay deal is for Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, who gets £1.5m a year - which would put him second on the BBC’s list behind Chris Evans. 
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Jeremy Vine: salaries are for the BBC to justifyJeremy Vine: salaries are for the BBC to justify
Jeremy Vine sounded defensive when he was challenged about his £700,000 plus salary by a former coal miner during a phone-in on Vine’s Radio 2 show.Jeremy Vine sounded defensive when he was challenged about his £700,000 plus salary by a former coal miner during a phone-in on Vine’s Radio 2 show.
“I feel very lucky every day is the answer,” Vine said.“I feel very lucky every day is the answer,” Vine said.
The former miner, who gave his name as Harry, said he thought Vine was overpaid.The former miner, who gave his name as Harry, said he thought Vine was overpaid.
Vine, the fourth highest earner on the list said: “I don’t even want to answer that, because I feel like it is not the moment for me...”Vine, the fourth highest earner on the list said: “I don’t even want to answer that, because I feel like it is not the moment for me...”
Harry said Vine should be prepared to answer direct questions as he expected guests on his show to do. Asked if he thought BBC presenters were overpaid, Vine replied “some are”.Harry said Vine should be prepared to answer direct questions as he expected guests on his show to do. Asked if he thought BBC presenters were overpaid, Vine replied “some are”.
Harry then asked: “How can you people justify the amount of money you are earning?Harry then asked: “How can you people justify the amount of money you are earning?
Vine replied: “To some extent Harry this is for the BBC to justify.”Vine replied: “To some extent Harry this is for the BBC to justify.”
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Rachel ObordoRachel Obordo
Guardian readers have been in touch to share their thoughts on the gender pay gap.Guardian readers have been in touch to share their thoughts on the gender pay gap.
Janice Aitken said she is not surprised about the gender pay gap at the BBC. “I’m deeply saddened to see it is firmly entrenched in the BBC. If the household names we see on our screens daily are not treated equally then the message is loud and clear - women are less valued, less entertaining and less authoritative than men who are doing the same job.”Janice Aitken said she is not surprised about the gender pay gap at the BBC. “I’m deeply saddened to see it is firmly entrenched in the BBC. If the household names we see on our screens daily are not treated equally then the message is loud and clear - women are less valued, less entertaining and less authoritative than men who are doing the same job.”
A freelance writer from Essex, Jenny Day thinks the report reflects an organisational culture which is out of touch with the modern era. “The idea that a man should automatically be ‘the family breadwinner’ has long since ceased to be relevant. There are now many families in which the woman is the main breadwinner, yet this notion of male superiority in remuneration stubbornly persists.”A freelance writer from Essex, Jenny Day thinks the report reflects an organisational culture which is out of touch with the modern era. “The idea that a man should automatically be ‘the family breadwinner’ has long since ceased to be relevant. There are now many families in which the woman is the main breadwinner, yet this notion of male superiority in remuneration stubbornly persists.”
Daniel Bevan from Portsmouth thinks the pay gap is “a ridiculous and unjustified throwback to a time when women were seen as unequal”. He said, “It’s very simple. If you can do the job well, it’s irrelevant whether you’re male or female.”Daniel Bevan from Portsmouth thinks the pay gap is “a ridiculous and unjustified throwback to a time when women were seen as unequal”. He said, “It’s very simple. If you can do the job well, it’s irrelevant whether you’re male or female.”
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Chris Evans: publishing salaries 'right and proper'Chris Evans: publishing salaries 'right and proper'
Chris Evans was mobbed by reporters asking to justify his £2.2m plus salary as he left the BBC after presenting his radio breakfast show.Chris Evans was mobbed by reporters asking to justify his £2.2m plus salary as he left the BBC after presenting his radio breakfast show.
He told them: “We are the ultimate public company and therefore I think that it is probably, on balance, right and proper if people know what we get paid.”He told them: “We are the ultimate public company and therefore I think that it is probably, on balance, right and proper if people know what we get paid.”
Lord Hall defended Evans’s pay uring a briefing on the annual report. He said: “Chris Evans is presenting the most popular show on the most popular radio network in Europe.Lord Hall defended Evans’s pay uring a briefing on the annual report. He said: “Chris Evans is presenting the most popular show on the most popular radio network in Europe.
“It might not be commercial radio, but we do know that for a number of presenters they have been made offers by commercial radio.“It might not be commercial radio, but we do know that for a number of presenters they have been made offers by commercial radio.
“We also know we’ve lost people, not Chris, but to Amazon and to other big players ... Also the choice for some of our talent is to go and do something completely different because they’re entertainers ... that is the market we’re dealing with. Them saying ‘we’re going to do something completely different’ or ... ‘it’s a market that is not just the UK but global’.”“We also know we’ve lost people, not Chris, but to Amazon and to other big players ... Also the choice for some of our talent is to go and do something completely different because they’re entertainers ... that is the market we’re dealing with. Them saying ‘we’re going to do something completely different’ or ... ‘it’s a market that is not just the UK but global’.”
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Another lawyer has warned the BBC is now open to sex discrimination claims over pay (see earlier).Another lawyer has warned the BBC is now open to sex discrimination claims over pay (see earlier).
Ruth Gamble, Partner at BDBF said: “If the BBC’s list of salaries shows that a female presenter on a primetime show is being paid less than a male presenter on the same show or a similar one, they have the makings of a good sex discrimination or equal pay claim. To defeat such a claim, the BBC would have to demonstrate that there is an explanation for the difference, which has nothing to do with gender. They will likely try to rely on years’ of experience, audience ratings for particular shows and differences between programme genres but, if the disparities are as striking as many expect them to be, it will not be an easy argument.”Ruth Gamble, Partner at BDBF said: “If the BBC’s list of salaries shows that a female presenter on a primetime show is being paid less than a male presenter on the same show or a similar one, they have the makings of a good sex discrimination or equal pay claim. To defeat such a claim, the BBC would have to demonstrate that there is an explanation for the difference, which has nothing to do with gender. They will likely try to rely on years’ of experience, audience ratings for particular shows and differences between programme genres but, if the disparities are as striking as many expect them to be, it will not be an easy argument.”
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Haroon Siddique
Louise Minchin is one of the women whose absence has been noted from the list of high earners, given that her fellow BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker is on it.
Walker has taken to Twitter to explain the reason for this discrepancy.
BBC exec should really know that we get exactly the same for BBC breakfast. I have another job on Football Focus https://t.co/zcTvaiocqX
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Haroon Siddique
Theresa May has taken a dig at BBC high earners in response to a question about public sector pay.
After Labour MP Ian Murray asked her, in prime minister’s questions, which public sector workers she thinks are overpaid and which ones are underpaid, May responded by saying that she knows many people are struggling but “as we see today there are some people in public sector who are being very well paid”.
Murray was following up on a question by the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who asked May if the chancellor, Philip Hammond, was referring to members of her cabinet, when he said, earlier this week, that some public sector workers were overpaid.
You can catch up on all the action from PMQs on Andrew Sparrow’s politics blog.
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BBC presenter Andrew Marr has defended his 400,000-a-year salary, claiming he has turned down higher offers from the broadcaster’s rivals, PA reports.
He revealed his salary had been steadily decreasing and had dropped 139,000 in the past two years. In a statement, Marr said:
“In the past I have been offered deals by the BBC’s commercial rivals at a higher rate than the corporation would pay.
“Following the publication of the BBC’s annual report, I can confirm that I’m paid £400,475 a year.
“It covers the weekly Sunday morning show, my radio work, documentary commissions, television obituaries, and work on big news events such as elections and both the Scottish and UK referenda coverage.
“It’s less, of course, than the £600,000 I was widely reported to be earning a couple of years ago; or indeed the 3 million a year Daily Telegraph claimed I was paid.
“As the BBC moves to deal with highly paid employees, my salary has been coming down. I now earn £139,000 a year less than I did two years ago.”
Andrew Neil also addressed his inclusion on the list during Wednesday morning’s Daily Politics.
Sitting alongside co-presenter Jo Coburn, who was not included on the list, he said: “The BBC has published details of on-screen talent, which you may be surprised to know includes me - as on-screen talent.”
Discussing a sports segment on the programme, Neil joked: “Is Gary Lineker coming on to do this bit? That means the budget will be gone for the year.” Neil was included in the £200,000-249,999 bracket, while Match Of The Day presenter Lineker’s salary is more than £1.75m.
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Former Sun editor David Yelland says he earned more at the Sun in 2003 than any of the news presenters listed in today’s report.
I earned more than all the news and current affairs BBC staff on that list - other than Presenters- as Editor of The Sun. In 2003.
Boastful but important context.
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BBC could face sex discrimination claims
Lawyers have warned that the BBC could face claims for sex discrimination by female stars.
In an email Karen Jackson, managing director at the firm Didlaw, said: “If you look at Gary Linekar’s pay of £1.9m as compared to Clare Balding’s £199k there is obviously a gender pay discrepancy. Clare Balding would certainly have a case unless the BBC can show there is a substantial and legitimate reason for the discrepancy.”
She added: “A material factor defence is available to employers to show that the pay difference is not because one is a man and the less well paid person is a woman. I have no doubt that the BBC’s legal advisers are already scrambling to gather evidence as to why the work is not equal. It’s obvious that this cannot be fair but showing that it is unlawful is very complex. I wonder if the report revealed any women doing equal work being paid more than a male equivalent? The legislation cuts both ways.”
Keely Rushmore, senior associate at SA Law, said: “The statistics could well lead to claims of sex discrimination by female stars. The BBC will need to show that the difference in pay is not directly on the grounds of sex, but also that (to the extent it asserts it relates to other factors such as viewers’ demands and preferences), the differential treatment is justified.”
And, Alex Bearman, Partner at Russell-Cooke, says: “If female stars in this list see male colleagues doing a similar job being paid considerably more than them, they might well be motivated to pursue a claim. The BBC will need to consider carefully how any such disparities can be justified.”
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Belatedly here’s a link to the BBC’s annual report. And here’s a full list of who is paid what.
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Sky’s Beth Rigby gives a possible explanation why Sarah Montague, the Today’s programme second longest serving presenter, does not appear on the list of plus £150,000 earners.
The mystery of Sarah Montague's absence from #BBCpay list. She's in same band as Webb (£150k-£200k). But works fewer shifts so paid less
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George Osborne’s London Evening Standard says the BBC has serious questions to answer over senior pay.
Its editorial says:
How can a public-service organisation that should be promoting gender equality justify its top male stars earning much more than their female stars? Is Chris Evans really worth four times more than Strictly’s Claudia Winkleman? Then there is the size of the salaries. The BBC says it is in an international market for top talent, and some of its people have recently left to join the likes of Spotify and Apple. That competition may be true of its real stars but do you really need to pay Stephen Nolan (exactly, who?) £450,000 a year? And being on the BBC gives performers and presenters an audience that allows them to earn a lot extra in appearance fees and publishing spin-offs. We need to see much more evidence that the BBC management really are managing their £1 billion talent bill.
Here's our editorial @EveningStandard on the real BBC challenge: not pay in west London but West Coast competition https://t.co/hPnowJ961x
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That Today programme interview between Mishal Husain and Tony Hall was a perfect vignette to illustrate the gender pay in BBC, writes Jane Martinson.
“It’s complicated. One person could be sitting next to someone doing the same job who earns more,” Hall squirmed to Husain, who is paid £50,000 to £100,000 less than Nick Robinson, who happened to be sitting alongside her in the studio on a salary, we now know, of £250,000-£299,000. “They could be doing other things,” he continued. “Or they may not be,” shot back Husain.
Awkward. Though possibly not as awkward as the fact that Sarah Montague, the show’s second ever female presenter and second longest serving after John Humphrys does not even appear to have made the list. Humphrys earns more than £600,000, but that includes his salary for presenting Mastermind as well as other TV shows paid for by the licence fee.
Only the BBC would force its own presenters to interview the boss about failings over their own pay of course. Which highlights the one great injustice of the disclosures, forced on the BBC by a Conservative government backed by much of the tabloid press howling for the stories. We will all grow old and die before the Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine interviews Paul Dacre about either his £1.5m last year or indeed whether she earns as much as Katie Hopkins, who works online only.
It is hard not to feel some sympathy for the BBC, the only major broadcaster that has to name those earning over £150,000 in a hugely competitive market in which its rivals tend to pay more. Rival executives and agents alike will aim to make hay from a poacher’s charter without a level playing field.
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11:57
Labour’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman has accused the BBC of sex discrimination in the way it spends public money.
Speaking to BBC News she said the corporation would have to change.
“It is very important that the lid has been lifted on this pay discrimination in the BBC ... the old boys network where they are feathering their own nests and each others and there is discrimination and unfairness against women,” Harman said.
She added: “Although everybody will think it is very unfair and outrageous this is a moment now when it can be sorted out.”
She also accused the corporation of hypocrisy on equality.
Everybody talks the talks of equality, but what’s shown is they are not walking the walk. This is a moment they have got to change.
The BBC needs to set an example. This is public money and people don’t want their money to be spent unfairly. Public money shouldn’t be spent in a way which is discriminatory. When you look at the structure and the pay it is clearly discrimination. Now that it is out in the open it will have to change.