The BBC has paid out more than £3 million to disgruntled employees in an effort to avoid Employment Tribunal claims.
That's the impoverished BBC that can't even afford a pot to piss in, if you believe all the lies it uttered about being unable to shoulder the cost of the over-75 TV licence.
News of the payouts - one of them rumoured to be £1 million - comes just days after the Employment Tribunal ruled that the BBC had discriminated against presenter Samira Ahmed on the basis of her gender.
Ahmed's lawyers successfully argued that the £500 fee she received for fronting each episode of the Newswatch programme was disproportionately small compared to the £3,000 fee Jeremy Vine received for fronting the similar Points Of View programme.
Despite the BBC arguing that the two programmes were very different, the Tribunal concluded that there was no reasonable argument for failing to pay Ahmed a comparable rate.
There are rumoured to be dozens of aggrieved BBC employees in a similar situation to Ahmed. The Corporation is feverishly bribing likely complainants in an effort to avoid the expense and embarrassment of further Employment Tribunal claims.
At the start of November, we reported that a letter was leaked bearing the names of 120 female BBC employees dissatisfied at perceived gender inequalities in pay. The list featured high profile names including BBC Breakfast presenters Louise Minchin and Naga Munchetty, BBC News presenter Joanna Gosling and BBC Radio 4 presenter Sarah Montague.
A BBC spokeswoman said: "The BBC has undertaken significant changes to pay and grading over recent years. It is in this context that there have been a large number of pay queries.
"The majority of these are addressed through our internal processes and do not result in any changes to individuals' pay. A tiny percentage end up in dispute or tribunal.
"Our approach to these cases has not changed. We continue to try to engage with our staff to resolve disputes where it is possible and appropriate. However, mindful of our obligations to the licence fee payer, we will robustly defend our position at tribunal if necessary."
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Edit (19/1/20): It has now been confirmed that the £1 million payout went to former Radio 4 Today programme presenter Sarah Montague.
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