Lucie Kon receives over £400,000 from BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation has paid a settlement exceeding £400,000 to Lucie Kon, an Oscar and Emmy-winning producer. The payment resolves a dispute over her dismissal in April.

Kon left the broadcaster 19 days after winning an Academy Award for her work. Her career includes credits on Panorama, Today, BBC Breakfast, and Storyville. The settlement is partly funded by the television license fee. The corporation did not admit liability in the agreement.

Kon alleges her treatment changed after the October 7 attacks in Israel. She told The Telegraph that a colleague responded to her message about Hamas by saying Zionists were also evil. Another colleague later told her that if she called Hamas terrorists, she had to call Israel a terrorist state as well. Kon helped create a private WhatsApp group for Jewish employees and wrote to then-Director General Tim Davie to raise these concerns.

Her manager initially supported a project Kon proposed about the attacks. A senior manager later removed Kon from the project, stating she was partial because she was Jewish. The manager assigned the project to the colleague who had made the earlier comments. Kon raised a formal grievance, but the BBC did not uphold it. The company cited her mental health as a reason for the decision.

After her appeal failed, the BBC restricted her duties. She could no longer travel, commission work, or speak for the corporation. Kon took stress-related sick leave in December. Upon returning, she applied for a newly created role but was rejected. The company made her redundant in April.

Kon stated that other Jewish colleagues are still being bullied. She described feeling stamped as a problem for speaking up. A colleague told her that identifying as a Zionist at the BBC made her a racist and a colonialist. Kon said she lost her job for bringing her authentic self to work.

A BBC spokesperson said the corporation is grateful Kon acknowledges the BBC is not institutionally antisemitic. The spokesperson noted that internal processes did not uphold the antisemitism allegations but acknowledged shortcomings in the outcome. The statement described Kon as a valued member of staff with many years of dedicated service.

The settlement makes Kon the first known recipient of a BBC payment following an antisemitism allegation. The corporation refused to apologize or formally admit she was a victim of antisemitism during the proceedings.