Naga Munchetty pockets £20,000 a week in public appearances on top of BBC pay

Naga Munchetty has been making up to £20,000 per week in public appearances on top of her BBC salary, according to newly published figures.

The BBC Breakfast presenter is one of the most frequently mentioned names in the corporation’s latest external events register.

In October, Munchetty moderated a panel event for Pimco, a US investment management firm. The following evening, she hosted the Stirling Prize for architecture.

For each event, she charged between £5,000 and £10,000 - the BBC register does not require staff to specify their exact fee.

In the last week of November, Munchetty moderated a discussion at The Negotiator Conference, an event for estate agents, and at an event for Experian, the credit agency.

The following week she hosted the Inclusive Awards, which rewards companies that have committed to diversity.

Munchetty’s going rate for those engagements was also £5,000 to £10,000. She is one of the highest-paid journalists at the BBC, on a salary of between £365,000 and £369,999.

Highly paid stars accept non-BBC engagements

Some of her BBC News colleagues charge even more. Nick Robinson, who earns between £270,000 and £274,999 for Radio 4’s Today programme, was paid more than £10,000 to speak at an event about pensions, and a further £10,000 or more to moderate an event on behalf of a law firm.

Clive Myrie, who earns between £255,000 and £259,999 plus an undisclosed sum for presenting Mastermind, charged more than £10,000 to chair a summit for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

Stephen Sackur, the presenter of HardTalk on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News, earned more than £10,000 for each of two engagements.

He chaired a panel for the Qatar Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation set up by Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, in the weeks before the World Cup. He also hosted an event for the UAE Space Agency.

Other highly paid stars accepting non-BBC engagements in the last three months of 2022 include Katya Adler and John Simpson - both paid over £10,000 per appearance.

The £5,000 to £10,000 bracket included Victoria Derbyshire, Justin Webb and Huw Edwards, the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader.