BBC News presenter Martine Croxall has brought a claim against the broadcaster over alleged age and sex discrimination.
The presenter, 55, was off air for a year and is taking the BBC to an employment tribunal in May, according to reports. According to the BBC website, the legal claims also include a claim for equal pay and the case will be held at London Central tribunal court from May 1. The details of her claim are not known but the tribunal listing indicates that the complaint is related to age and sex discrimination and equal pay, according to the BBC.
This will be one of the most high-profile tribunal cases against the corporation since it lost a gender pay dispute with Newswatch star Samira Ahmed. Four years ago, it was claimed that Samira should have been paid the same amount of money as her fellow presenter Jeremy Vine, for their work at the same network, which also included Points Of View. However, the BBC argued that the pair had not executed similar work as they performed "very different roles." But the unanimous judgement stated that Samira's employment was in fact similar to her co-star and the BBC had actually failed to prove the pay gap wasn't because of sex discrimination.
Martine, was one of five female presenters who say that they were left unsure of their position within the BBC when its News and World News channels merged. Along with Annita McVeigh, Kasia Madera, Geeta Guru-Murthy and Karin Giannone, they were all due to return and they all received their full salary.
While Martine was due to return, some of her other colleagues including Joanna Gosling, David Eades and Tim Wilcox were not as lucky. At the time concerns were raised surrounding the way the BBC managed the recruitment process, with claims that the broadcaster had already chosen who they wanted before people had the opportunity to apply.
However, the corporation reportedly rejected the allegations after an internal review investigated the claims. Annita McVeigh and Geeta Guru-Murthy have since taken on chief presenter roles and have now appeared on air. Speaking about their return to the small screen, Martine took to X, also known as Twitter and wrote: "Great to see Anita back on air again! #shesback." And after Geeta's return she posted:"Straight back into the fray! Good to see Geeta Guru-Murthy in the BBC New hot seat. #shesback."
Martine appeared to confirm her return to the BBC in February, nearly a year after she was away from the camera. Celebrating her 55th birthday, she informed fans: "Yes my birthday is today and I have been thoroughly spoiled. Will be back on air in a few weeks. Take care of yourself." She added: "I will be back. Just working out the details."
Martine signed off on March 31 last year and posted a video on social media that said; "As you probably know a single BBC News channel will be with you from Monday. This is me signing off from the BBC News channel in its current iteration from my happy place - Studio E. It has been the greatest privilege to broadcast to you from here all this time. Thank you for joining us."
The Mirror contacted the BBC who declined to comment.
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