BBC faces £1 million compensation claims
The BBC has paid compensation, totalling around £1 million, for bizarre incidents like microphone which fell in loo, in the last three years, a media report said.
According to the Sunday Express, payments included £9,000 for an extra who fell from the crow’s nest of a ship during filming of a period drama, £8,000 for road damage caused by the Top Gear team and £2,000 after a film crew knocked over a marble plinth in a museum.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act also show how a voice-over performer, who chipped a tooth on a microphone after someone bumped into his chair causing his elbow to slip, received £950 while a female employee who ripped her skirt on a fire hose cover got £150.
In fact, the figures obtained by the British newspaper showed there were 738 claims in the three years to March 30.
The BBC paid out £986,268 under its motor third party and public liability policies, although that figure will rise with many claims still to be settled. Compensation was given for radio microphones and mobile phones dropped into toilets and £30,000 damage caused to a petrol station.
Other payments included £3,606 for a snapped double bass bow, £13,800 after a lorry reversed into cathedral gates and £350 after a production crew allegedly unplugged a freezer spoiling frozen game.
An actress caused £677 of damage when she dropped her microphone into the sea “while bending down to pick up some shells”. More was paid out after film crews caused havoc on a shooting location, the report said.
Matthew Elliott of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “The BBC must be careful not to waste money. Of course anyone who is genuinely harmed should be compensated, but many of these claims are things people would have shrugged off in the past.”
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