Four female news presenters have reached a last-minute settlement with the BBC over claims they were the victims of a “rigged” recruitment process.
Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera claimed they lost their positions on the BBC News channel as a result of the recruitment exercise, with their claims involving age and sex discrimination.
The BBC has always said the application process was “rigorous and fair”. A settlement has now been reached with no admission of liability from the corporation. A three-week tribunal into the claims had been due to begin on Monday, but will now not take place.
The four women, who all remain at the corporation, said in a statement: “We can confirm that we have reached a resolution with BBC management that avoids the need for a tribunal hearing in respect of our employment-related claims.
“A protracted process lasting almost three years is now over. We’ve been deeply moved by the support we’ve received. We look forward to contributing further to the success of BBC News, especially to live programming and the growing streaming services that are so important to our audiences.”
The legal case dates back to the summer of 2022, when the corporation announced it was merging its domestic and global news channels. It led to a recruitment process for five chief presenters. In witness statements released last year, the women said some of them were demoted, while others faced a pay cut.
They had argued that evidence from a whistleblower would show the BBC ran “a sham” recruitment process. They claimed that Jess Brammar, then the BBC’s editor of news channels, had “privately assured four other chief presenters – two men and two younger women – their jobs were safe, but admitted she couldn’t say much ‘for legal reasons’”.
They claimed to have been victimised and to have suffered harassment, ill-health and reputational damage. All were off air for more than a year in the aftermath. The successful candidates for the presenting posts were Matthew Amroliwala, Christian Fraser, Yalda Hakim, Lucy Hockings and Maryam Moshiri. Hakim has since become the lead world news presenter for Sky News.
The BBC has denied the women’s claims. It said all candidates involved in the process for the chief presenter roles underwent the same fair application process, involving an interview and practical assessments. It has said at least five other applicants recorded higher scores than the women during the “objective assessment”.
The end of the case will be a relief to BBC bosses as they grapple with a series of running issues, including the start of BBC charter renewal talks, the departure of an influential executive and serious questions over its handling of a Gaza documentary.
Brammar is now an editorial executive in BBC content and works closely with Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s outgoing chief content officer. Moore, often regarded as the most influential woman in British television, recently announced her shock decision to leave the corporation.
A BBC spokesperson said: “After careful consideration we have reached a resolution which brings to an end protracted legal proceedings with four members of staff and avoids further costs for the BBC. In doing so we have not accepted any liability or any of the arguments made against the BBC. We are simply bringing to a close all of the actions brought against us so that all involved can move forward.
“The BBC successfully launched a single BBC News channel in 2023, bringing the best live and breaking news on TV and online both here and around the world. We welcome this opportunity to now look to the future, and to work together on delivering for our audiences – which is our first priority.”
