The radio presenter Sarah Montague has won a £400,000 settlement and an apology from the BBC after complaining about unequal pay and conditions.

Montague, who presented Radio 4’s Today programme for 18 years before moving to the station’s World At One show in March 2018, said the deal came after a “long period of stressful negotiations”.

Sarah Montague 'incandescent with rage' over BBC pay gap Read more

The payout, which is subject to tax, was made last year. Montague said she had been told that she could win millions, however she did not seek such sums from her employer and instead only wanted recognition that she had been underpaid.

The BBC has been embroiled in a row over its gender pay gap since 2017, when it was forced to publish a list of its on-air staff earning £150,000 or more – only a third of whom were women.

Montague’s Today co-host, John Humphrys, who also presents Mastermind, received between £600,000 and £649,999 over the previous year, while she was not on the list. He subsequently agreed to take a pay cut, while Montague received a pay rise to between £160,000 to £170,000.

Montague, who also presents the BBC’s Hardtalk interview show, tweeted: “I would prefer not to be talking about my pay but feel I have no option given the erroneous reports in today’s papers.

“Here are the facts: When I discovered the disparity in my pay and conditions, I was advised that rectifying it all could run into the millions. I chose not to seek such sums from the BBC but I did want some recognition that they had underpaid me.

“Last year after a long period of stressful negotiation, I accepted a settlement of £400,000 subject to tax and an apology from the BBC for paying me unequally for so many years.”

Sarah Montague (@Sarah_Montague) Last year after a long period of stressful negotiations, I accepted a settlement of £400,000 subject to tax and an apology from the BBC for paying me unequally for so many years. 3/3

The news of Montague’s settlement comes after the journalist Samira Ahmed won a landmark equal pay claim against the broadcaster this month.

An employment tribunal unanimously concluded that the BBC had failed to provide a convincing justification for the difference between Ahmed’s £440-an-episode for presenting Newswatch and the £3,000 an episode Jeremy Vine received for hosting the similar Points of View.

During the hearings the BBC inadvertently revealed the names of 120 female employees who had pursued gender pay complaints against the corporation, while the National Union of Journalists’ general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, has said there are about 20 other cases heading to tribunal.

The broadcaster confirmed on Saturday it was considering waiving controversial confidentiality clauses that employees were previously made to sign as part of settlements for equal pay disputes.

A BBC spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have resolved this matter with Sarah some time ago.”

Commenting on Montague’s settlement, Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said: “We know that there are many more equal pay cases at the BBC that have either been settled or remain unresolved. We urge the BBC to bring these cases to a swift conclusion and call on all employers to address unequal pay within their own organisation if and when they find it.

“These cases, and other cases we’ve seen from our own Equal Pay Advice Service, show that we need to modernise equal pay law and give women access to information and the right to know if they are being paid fairly.”