BBC pays over £400,000 to Jewish producer after antisemitism concerns

A £400,000 payout

The BBC has paid more than £400,000 to Lucie Kon, a former commissioning editor and executive producer on the Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, according to reports by The Telegraph and the UK news agency PA. Der Standard puts the sum at more than 400,000 pounds (about 477,600 euros) and says it was agreed after proceedings over alleged unfair dismissal. The Telegraph framed the payment as compensation for antisemitism, while the BBC says it did not uphold any of the antisemitism allegations. Kon describes the money as redundancy back pay and a settlement for personal injury caused by the process. The corporation accepts there were 'shortcomings' in how it treated her, which had a 'personal impact' on her, but did not say what they were.

Remarks after the 7 October attacks

Kon says that after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October, colleagues described Zionists like her as 'evil', and she raised a number of concerns about how she was treated. She helped lead a group representing Jewish staff and took the issues to then-director general Tim Davie. In an interview with LBC, she said she had been told she could not look after the Nova film when she first pitched it, because she was Jewish and that made her partial.

“I was told I couldn't look after the Nova film when I first pitched it because I was Jewish and that made me partial.”

Kon also told LBC that she had felt she needed to reassure colleagues that she was 'an okay Zionist'. She said parts of her internal grievance were upheld but most were not. She was later placed at risk of redundancy, made to interview for her own role, and told she had been unsuccessful during the week she attended the Emmys.

Redundancy and the publicity row

Kon was made redundant in April, 19 days after returning from the Oscars, according to LBC. She said she did not believe the BBC was institutionally antisemitic but that it had a problem with groupthink.

“I think that there's a problem with groupthink at the BBC.”

The Evening Standard notes that former director-general Tim Davie announced in November that he would resign after a string of scandals at the corporation. The timeline below sets Kon's account against the dates reported in the coverage.

The Telegraph separately reports that BBC publicity staff refused to promote We Will Dance Again, the 2024 Emmy-winning documentary about the victims of the Nova festival attack that Kon executive produced. According to the paper, Kon was forced to hire a freelance publicist after the in-house team allegedly told her the film was 'too political'. The BBC has said it does not comment on individual staffing matters.