Four of the BBC’s male presenters agree pay cut – report
It comes after China editor Carrie Gracie quit in protest at unequal pay.
Four male presenters at the BBC have accepted pay cuts following revelations over equal pay, the corporation has reported.
According to the BBC News website, Jeremy Vine, John Humphrys, Huw Edwards and Jon Sopel have all agreed, either formally or in principle, to reduce their salaries.
Last year, the broadcaster published a list of its top earners, setting out the pay for staff on more than £150,000, revealing a shocking gap in the earnings of its most well-known male and female presenters and actors.
Mr Humphrys, who presents the Radio 4 Today programme, was shown to earn between £600,000 and £650,000.
He said at the time: “I have taken a couple of sizeable, very large, very sizeable pay cuts just recently. How much? I don’t know… Would I chop my salary in half? Maybe I would, I don’t know.”
Radio 2 host Mr Vine was one of the highest paid stars, earning £700,000-£749,999, while BBC News presenter Mr Edwards earned £550,000-£599,999 and Mr Sopel, the BBC’s North America editor, received £200,000-£249,999.
The extent of the four presenters’ pay cuts is not yet known, BBC News reported.
The broadcasting veteran was heard to say he could hand over more than the entire salary of his colleague Mr Sopel, and still be “left with more than anybody else”.
The BBC said at the time it was “committed to getting its pay structures right” and that it was conducting a “comprehensive analysis” of presenter pay.
