A landmark legal decision in Britain today is likely to have significant societal consequences. The former presenter of BBC TV's Countryfile programme, Miriam O’Reilly won her employment case against the Corporation after she claimed she was discriminated against on the grounds of ageism.
O’Reilly, 53, was dropped from the show in 2009 when it moved to its current Sunday evening slot.
She was replaced by a younger presenter, while programme host John Craven, 68, was kept on. Interestingly for me, John Craven is a TV personality from my youth. He was the presenter of the very first news programme specifically made for children, called John Craven's Newsround.
Discrimination of all kinds is wrong. But at the time of writing this, society is only just beginning to consider ageism as a form of discrimination. This particular presenter is fully capable of doing her job and clearly should not have been sacked simply because some BBC executives wanted to freshen up the look of one of their TV programmes.
Grandpa Jonathan
Prague, Czech Republic
