The BBC has agreed a settlement with four of its female broadcast news presenters over claims including age and sex discrimination after they agreed to drop their case.
Martine Croxall, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera and Annita McVeigh were due to begin the latest round of proceedings on Monday after claiming they had lost out on a top flight job in a ‘rigged’ recruitment process.
But a source at London Central Employment Tribunals court confirmed their discrimination case was withdrawn at the last minute and the hearing vacated.
BBC News has reported that a settlement has been reached with no admission of liability – averting a three-week tribunal that had been due to start on Monday.
Karin Giannone confirmed to MailOnline the case has been dropped, saying in a statement on behalf of the four: ‘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.’
A spokesperson for the BBC, which has previously insisted the application process was ‘rigorous and fair’, said it would not be commenting at present.
The row centred on plans announced in July 2022 to merge its domestic and international news channels – BBC News and BBC World News – and began a search for five chief presenters.
(Left to right) Annita McVeigh, Martine Croxall, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera pictured in May last year. The four have reportedly agreed to drop a discrimination case against the BBC
The presenters had been among the BBC’s best-known presenters before they claimed they were effectively sidelined after failing to secure top jobs in its newly merged news channels
The BBC is reported to have reached a settlement with the four presenters after an appeal due to be heard next week was called off (file picture of Broadcasting House)
But the women alleged that ahead of the merger announcement, Jess Brammar, then-BBC TV channels manager, privately assured four other chief presenters – two men and two younger women – their jobs were safe.
In court documents which were filed ahead of a two-day preliminary hearing in May last year, the women claimed: ‘We were put through a predetermined job application process in February 2023.’
All four applied to be chief presenter but were instead offered roles as correspondents, a real terms demotion and pay cut.
The successful candidates were Matthew Amroliwala, Christian Fraser, Lucy Hockings, Maryam Moshiri, and Yalda Hakim – now of Sky News.
An internal BBC HR investigation concluded in 2023 that no private assurances were made to the successful applicants before the recruitment process.
The corporation insisted its application process was ‘rigorous and fair’.
Despite this, the women branded the hiring process ‘a sham’ and said they were forced off-screen for a year after allegedly being harassed as a result of the process.
The BBC, however, said five other applicants scored more highly than the four women and were appointed following an ‘objective assessment’.
Croxall, 56; Giannone, 51; Madera, 49; and McVeigh, 46, also made claims about gender pay discrimination.
They alleged they had not been paid equally compared with an equivalent male presenter since February 2020.
Last year a judge threw this claim out because salary settlements had already been reached – a victory for the BBC.
But Croxall, McVeigh and Madera continued to allege discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, being a union member, and wages. Giannone also maintained she had been discriminated against based on age, sex and wages.
(From left) Kasia Madera, Geeta Guru-Murthy, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Martine Croxall pictured enjoying a drink together on April 5 last year
Karin Giannone shared this image of herself, Madera, McVeigh, and Croxall on Instagram last week
The women claimed they were left to suffer victimisation, harassment and reputational damage, and were granted approval to have their cases heard jointly.
Croxall was told that she could also make a claim on being a union member as well as on wages.
These claims would have been heard in the hearing that taking place next week had a settlement not been reached.
In a post last week Croxall, who has worked for the BBC since 1991, paid tribute to her three colleagues ‘for their unstinting friendship and support’ throughout the legal battle.
Sharing a selfie with her fellow complainants, she said: ‘On #InternationalWomensDay I want to thank @KasiaMadera @AnnitaBBC and @KarinBBC for their unstinting friendship and support. Three women of absolute integrity. I could not wish for finer colleagues x.’
