BBC News at Ten anchor Huw Edwards is now the highest paid journalist at the BBC after a number of its top-earning men, including Edwards, agreed to salary cuts amid a row over equal pay at the corporation.
Edwards was paid up to £599,999 when the salaries of the BBC’s on-air talent paid more than £150,000 a year through the licence fee were first revealed last year following a Government edict to make them public.
In the latest salary figures released today, one year on, Edwards has seen his salary fall to a maximum of £539,999.
Scroll down for full list of salaries compared with year before
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They were: Edwards, Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine, Today presenters John Humphrys and Nick Robinson, North America editor Jon Sopel and Radio Five Live presenter Nicky Campbell.
Vine, who was the BBC’s highest-paid journalist in 2016/17, has seen his salary fall from up to £749,999 down to a maximum of £449,999. This is the biggest pay cut among BBC journalists.
BBC Radio 4 Today programme presenter John Humphrys went from a salary of up to £649,999 down to a maximum of £409,999.
The new salary figures show the top ten best-paid journalists at the corporation are still all men, despite “concerted action” by the BBC to improve its gender pay gap.
The BBC said its median pay gap for last year was 7.6 per cent, down from 9.3 per cent the year before. The corporation’s mean gender pay gap has also fallen, from 10.7 per cent in 2017 to 8.4 per cent.
The BBC is aiming for gender pay parity by 2020.
In a joint statement shared on Twitter, the BBC Women group, representing more than 170 broadcasters and producers, said: “The list shows how far the BBC still has to go in valuing women and men equally for their work.
“A year on from the formation of our group, many women at all levels of the organisation are still involved in protracted and gruelling processes to address their pay claims.
“We urge management to resolve these as swiftly as possible and in full accordance with the law.
“From now on, we expect all management decisions on pay, promotion and recruitment to be made with equal pay as a given.”
The Today programme’s Mishal Husain is the top-paid woman journalist at the BBC on up to £229,999, slightly up from last year. She is followed by Fran Unsworth, director of news and current affairs, on up to £249,999.
Women to have joined the list this year include Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis on up to £229,999, Europe editor Katya Adler on £170,000 – £179,999, and Today’s Sarah Montague on £160,000-169,999.
Other new additions include media editor Amol Rajan, on £200,000 – £209,999 and former Today presenter James Naughtie on £170,000 – £179,999.
Not on the list this year, however, is Daily Politics presenter Andrew Neil. Neil was paid up to £249,999 last year. Neil stopped presenting BBC Sunday Politics in September 2017
Also not on the list, but who appeared last year, is Newsnight’s Kirsty Wark and BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty.
The BBC announced last week that its median gender pay gap has dropped from 9.3 per cent to 7.6 per cent in the past year after “concerted action” began to close the gap by 2020.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “Since last year’s pay disclosures lifted the lid on pay inequity at the BBC, the NUJ has worked hard to get to grips with the scale of the problem, entering into negotiations to improve clearer salary structures that are consistently applied and transparent at the same time as representing members in equal pay complaints.
“Much progress has been made in recent months, but there remains much work to be done; not least on the outstanding equal pay cases for NUJ members we are representing at the BBC.
“Whilst a growing number have been resolved, and we’ve seen significant pay increases and back-pay for some members, many more are outstanding.
“The length of time cases are taking to resolve is a cause for concern and we continue to push for speedy and comprehensive settlements to these complaints.”
Complete list of BBC journalists earning more than £150,000
| Name | Salary band (2018) | Salary band (2017) | Main BBC job |
| Huw Edwards | £520,000 – £529,999 | £550,000-£599,999 | Presenter, News at Ten |
| Nicky Campbell | £410,000 – £419,999 | £400,000-£449,999 | Presenter, Radio 5 |
| Jeremy Vine | £440,000 – £449,999 | £700,000-£749,999 | Presenter, Radio 2 |
| John Humphrys | £400,000-£409,999 | £600,000-£649,999 | Presenter, Today and Mastermind |
| Andrew Marr | £400,000 – £409,999 | £400,000-£449,999 | Presenter, Andrew Marr Show |
| Stephen Nolan | £400,000 – £409,999 | £400,000-£449,999 | Presenter, BBC Northern Ireland |
| Eddie Mair | £330,000-£339,999 | £300,000-£349,999 | Presenter, Radio 4 |
| George Alagiah | £290,000 – £299,999 | £250,000-£299,999 | Presenter, News at Six |
| Nicholas Robinson | £250,000-£259,999 | £250,000-£299,999 | Presenter, Today |
| Evan Davis | £250,000 – £259,999 | £250,000-£299,999 | Presenter, Newsnight |
| Mishal Husain | £220,000-£229,999 | £200,000-£249,999 | Presenter, Today |
| Francesca Unsworth | £240,000 – £249,999 | £200,000-£250,000 | Director, World Service Group |
| Jonathan Sopel | £230,000 – £239,999 | £200,000-£249,999 | Correspondent, North America editor |
| Emily Maitlis | £220,000 – £229,999 | N/A | Presenter, Newsnight |
| Dan Walker | £220,000 – £229,999 | £200,000-£249,999 | Presenter, BBC Breakfast |
| Victoria Derbyshire | £210,000 – £219,999 | £200,000-£249,999 | Presenter, BBC Two |
| Laura Kuenssberg | £220,000 – £229,999 | £200,000-£249,999 | Correspondent, political editor |
| Martha Kearney | £200,000-£209,999 | £200,000-£249,999 | Presenter, Radio 4 World at One |
| Amol Rajan | £200,000 – £209,999 | N/A | Media editor |
| Jeremy Bowen | £200,000 – £209,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Correspondent, Middle East editor |
| Sophie Raworth | £200,000 – £209,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Presenter, BBC News at One |
| Adrian Van Klaveren | £190,000 – £199,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Head of Strategic Change, World Service |
| Fiona Bruce | £180,000 – £189,999 | £350,000-£399,999 | Presenter, TV news, Antiques Roadshow |
| James Naughtie | £170,000 – £179,999 | N/A | Correspondent and presenter |
| Mark Easton | £170,000 – £179,999 | N/A | Correspondent, home editor |
| Katya Adler | £170,000 – £179,999 | N/A | Europe editor |
| David Jordan | £170,000 – £179,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Director, Editorial Policy and Standards |
| Sarah Montague | £160,000-169,999 | N/A | Presenter, Today |
| Kamal Ahmed | £160,000 – £169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Correspondent, economics editor |
| John Simpson | £160,000 – £169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Correspondent, World Affairs editor |
| Justin Webb | £160,000-£169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Presenter, Today |
| Fiona Campbell | £160,000 – £169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Controller, BBC News, Mobile and Online |
| David Holdsworth | £160,000 – £169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Controller, English Regions |
| Jonathan Munro | £160,000 – £169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Head of Newsgathering |
| Mary Hockaday | £160,000 – £169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Controller, World Service English |
| Moira Stuart | £160,000 – £169,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Presenter, reads news on Radio 2 |
| Ben Brown | £150,000 – £159,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Presenter, BBC News Channel |
| John Pienaar | £150,000 – £159,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Correspondent, deputy political editor |
| James Gray | £150,000 – £159,999 | £150,000-£199,999 | Deputy Head of Current Affairs |
| Tina Daheley | £150,000 – £159,999 | N/A | Presenter, Newsbeat and news events and cover for BBC Breakfast and Victoria Derbyshire |
| Simon Jack | £150,000 – £159,999 | N/A | Business editor |
| Fergal Keane | £150,000 – £159,999 | N/A | Africa editor |
| Sarah Smith | £150,000 – £159,999 | N/A | Scotland editor |
| Gavin Allen | £150,000 – £159,999 | N/A | Controller, Daily News Programming |
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