Dan Walker and Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije have settled their employment dispute out of court, according to multiple reports. As part of the settlement, Vanderpuije fully withdraws her allegations relating to Walker and does not intend to repeat or pursue them, a statement on her behalf said. ITN continues to deny these claims in full, an ITN spokesperson confirmed. Channel 5 strongly rejects the claims and is pleased that all allegations relating to Dan Walker have been withdrawn, a Channel 5 spokesperson said. The allegations were contested and no findings were made, according to multiple reports.
The allegations included racism, sexism, misogyny, and bullying within the Channel 5 News workplace, according to Vanderpuije. The employment dispute followed claims by Vanderpuije that she was the victim of a sham redundancy after making protected disclosures as a whistleblower. Vanderpuije raised concerns about a toxic newsroom culture including racism, sexism, misogyny, and bullying, and claimed editorial output reflected that environment. She also alleged attempts to cover up the culture despite obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and Ofcom licence. Vanderpuije has accused Walker of bullying, sexism, and misogyny, according to her lawyer Jonathan Coad. She claims she was made redundant after whistleblowing about a toxic culture of racism, sexism, misogyny, and bullying at Channel 5 News, Coad said. Vanderpuije also alleges that Channel 5's editorial content reflected its racist culture, according to Coad.
In a previous statement, Walker denied all allegations and referenced an internal investigation from 2024 that he said fully vindicated him. The internal investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence to uphold the complaints, according to research. Walker is understood to have fully cooperated with that inquiry, multiple reports said. Walker has gathered more than 50 character witness statements from footballers, Olympians, BBC journalists, and other colleagues, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by the Mail on Sunday. An internal investigation into claims previously made by Vanderpuije against Walker found no misconduct, according to research. Walker denies all allegations of sexism, misogyny, racism, or bullying, he said.
Vanderpuije's legal team argued the internal process did not fully address her concerns, according to her legal team. Vanderpuije was banned from the newsroom by ITN's chief executive Rachel Corp after lodging her complaint, according to research. She circulated email exchanges to colleagues after being banned from the newsroom, research indicates. Vanderpuije was offered paid leave by ITN in February 2024 while they investigated her complaints, according to research.
The employment tribunal hearing is scheduled for April 20 and expected to last five weeks, according to Jonathan Coad, Vanderpuije's lawyer. However, the out-of-court settlement with Walker may affect the tribunal's scope. Vanderpuije's lawyer denied reports that she was seeking £13m or £4m in compensation, and said respondents had made multiple settlement offers which were refused. An ITN spokesman said the claim is denied in full and will be addressed through the tribunal process.
Walker and Vanderpuije previously co-hosted Channel 5 News together after Walker joined in 2022, according to multiple reports. Vanderpuije had been with Channel 5 since 2018 but left in 2023, with sources suggesting her departure was sudden, multiple reports said. The settlement brings a close to the personal allegations against Walker, but the broader employment tribunal against ITN and Paramount may continue.