Why Samira Ahmed deserves compensation
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The Newswatch host’s case is not just about gender equality. It questions what value the BBC places on journalism, says her predecessor Raymond Snoddy.
By Raymond Snoddy
As a committed supporter of equal pay for equivalent work at the BBC or anywhere else, it is embarrassing to inadvertently be a possible barrier to Samira Ahmed winning lots of back pay from the corporation.
Ahmed, who has been presenter of the BBC’s accountability programme Newswatch for the past seven years, is involved in a high-profile equal pay case based on the fact that Jeremy Vine received nearly seven times more than her for presenting Points Of View.
Both programmes last 15 minutes and are designed to highlight the opinions of viewers.
The allegation is that the BBC is guilty of gender discrimination – that Vine, the man, received £3,000 a programme and Ahmed, the woman, only £440.
There is one problem. As founding presenter of Newswatch, which takes up viewer complaints about BBC television news, I was al...
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