BBC releases angry pay negotiation emails from Jeremy Vine’s agent: ‘Stop treating him like a child as he is sick of it now’

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The BBC has released “torturous” pay negotiation emails from Jeremy Vine’s agent as part of the corporation’s legal battle with presenter Samira Ahmed. Newswatch presenter Ahmed has taken the BBC to an employment tribunal seeking £693,245 in lost earnings as part of an equal pay dispute, arguing “it just does not seem fair” that she was paid £440 per episode of her programme while Vine received £3,000 for each instalment of similar show Points of View. The BBC’s supporting evidence, according to Deadline, includes emails from Vine’s agent Alex Armitage in which he tells the corporation to “stop treating Jeremy Vine like a child as he is sick of it now”. “Stop saying there is no more money as there is money for what ever you want it for, just find it and stop treating jeremy Vine like a child as he is sick of it now.” At the time, the BBC was under pressure to raise Vine’s salary by 63 per cent, with competing offers allegedly close to £1m from ITV and Sky.