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Clive Myrie and Huw Edwards among BBC talent earning over £10k for external work

Four BBC broadcasters got more than £10,000 on top of their salaries for work outside the corporation between April and June, new data shows.

On-air talent and senior leaders have had to publicly declare their paid outside work, including public speaking engagements, appearances or writing commitments, since January 2021.

Clive Myrie, Nick Robinson, Huw Edwards and Katya Adler were paid undisclosed sums of more than £10,000 in the three months, according to the BBC’s external events register.

Virgin Media BAFTA TV Awards 2019 – Press Room – London
Huw Edwards (Ian West/PA)

Mastermind host Myrie was paid to be a moderator at an event by SCC on May 19, while Robinson, a presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme, received his payment for speaking at an event organised by law firm Mishcon de Reya on May 5.

In the BBC’s 2021/2022 annual report, Myrie was listed as having a salary of between £255,000-259,999, while Robinson was paid between £270,000-274,999.

Europe editor Adler, meanwhile, was paid for a speech for the Futures Industry Association on June 7.

And News at Ten presenter Edwards was paid for hosting an event for The British Insurance Brokers’ Association on May 11.

According to the BBC annual report, Adler earned between £215,000-219,999 in 2021/2022, while Edwards earned between £410,000-414,999.

The register classes payments in four categories – below £1,000, £1,000-5,000, £5,000-10,000, and more than £10,000.

Thirteen BBC journalists, including Fiona Bruce and Naga Munchetty, were paid between £5,000-10,000 for outside work.

Women in Film and TV Awards 2019 – London
Katya Adler (Ian West/PA)

Kirsty Wark, Newsnight’s longest-serving presenter, undertook two pieces of work that fell into that pay bracket – hosting an event for World Skills UK and for interview work with law firm Akin Gump.

Myrie was paid between £5,000-10,000 on two occasions – for serving as a host for PR Week and speaking for the Association of Investment Companies.

Other journalists who featured in the bracket included Faisal Islam, Spencer Kelly and Robinson.

Staff must seek written approval from a divisional head of department before signing up to any external engagements.

Director-general Tim Davie announced the move in October 2020 as part of a series of measures aimed at ensuring the broadcaster’s impartiality.