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Presenter Samira Ahmed has accused the BBC of gender discrimination in evidence during an explosive legal battle, in which she is claiming she was paid significantly less than male counterpart Jeremy Vine for hosting a similar show.

Ahmed is seeking £693,245 in lost earnings at an employment tribunal in London, the first case of its kind since the BBC was caught up in a gender pay scandal after China editor Carrie Gracie resigned last year in protest over her salary.

In a witness statement, Ahmed said “it just not seem fair” that she was paid £440 for hosting an episode Newswatch, while at the same time, Vine took home £3,000 for recording an episode of Points of View. Both formats invite viewers to offer feedback on BBC output.

Ahmed set out in the 53-page statement why the shows involve similar work and provide audiences with a similar service, arguing that it was not...

The BBC has played down the potency of its own output in a legal battle with presenter Samira Ahmed, who is seeking £693,245 in lost earnings at an employment tribunal over equal pay.

In the first case of its kind since the BBC was embroiled in a gender pay scandal, Ahmed is arguing that she was paid significantly less than male presenter Jeremy Vine for hosting similar shows.

Ahmed hosts Newswatch, a BBC News channel show in which viewer feedback on the BBC’s news coverage is discussed. She was paid £440 an episode when she joined the show in 2012, rising to £465 in 2015.

Vine hosted Points of View for a decade up to 2018 — another show inviting audience feedback on BBC programming. He was paid £3,000 an episode, a figure that was more than halved to £1,300 in 2018.

In a summary of the BBC’s defense, made available on Wednesday at the Central London Employment Tribunal,...

BBC presenter Samira Ahmed is preparing to give evidence on Wednesday in a dramatic legal battle in which she is demanding that her salary mirrors that of a male colleague.

In the first employment tribunal of its kind since the BBC was embroiled in a gender pay scandal last year when China editor Carrie Gracie resigned in protest over her salary, Ahmed is arguing she should be paid the same as Jeremy Vine, a prominent male presenter.

Ahmed presents Newswatch, a BBC News channel show in which viewer feedback on the BBC’s news coverage is discussed. Since presenting the show in 2012, she was paid £440 ($564) an episode for three years before her salary was raised to £465 in 2015. Her pay was later cut again, however, when freelance presenters became BBC employees.

In contrast, Vine was paid £3,000 an episode to host BBC One’s Points of View, which is similar in format...

This week John Plunkett reports from the Voice of the Listener and Viewer (Vlv) conference in London, where the campaign group celebrates its 30th year.

We hear from Steven Barnett, professor of communications at the University of Westminster on the challenges facing Vlv as the digital revolution takes hold in broadcasting.

BBC director general Tony Hall faces questions from the floor and rallies the troops to defend the public service broadcaster in the runup to charter renewal – but could he and his team be doing more? Former BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas and journalist Raymond Snoddy provide their analysis.

Away from the conference Edgar Wright – director of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End – announces plans to return to television for the first time since Spaced.

Plus Rebecca Nicholson escapes her TV lair and reviews the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, Masterchef: the Professionals and previews...

Today's extract from the book After Leveson* is by the former national newspaper editor, Guardian deputy editor and academic, Peter Cole. He is firmly anti-statutory and pro-independent.

To that end, Cole considers what has happened in the aftermath of the publication of Lord Justice Leveson's report. After 86 days of public hearings and 474 witnesses, at a probable cost of £6m, what now for Leveson's recommendations?

It is not over yet. There is acceptance that there has to be a change in the regulation of the press.

There is division among politicians, editors, victims of shameful treatment by sections of the press, campaigners for reform, journalists and media academics about the precise nature of any reforms to be introduced, crucially whether or not they require legislation and whether that is acceptable in terms of cherished press freedoms that have existed for more than 300 years.

After the publication of the Leveson report David...