BBC Pay: Male presenters could face a wages cut
Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark has blasted a BBC boss over the gender pay gap as it was suggested some big name male talents may be given salary cuts.
Speaking on the BBC2 programme last night she told BBC director of radio and education James Purnell 'something's got to give' as she questioned him on the row.
It came after the corporation revealed the salaries of its highest-paid presenters, with the top seven earners all men, along with 62 of the 96 on the list.
No woman earned more than £500,000 and half of the females on the list were in the lowest salary category.
Kirsty Wark told BBCÂ director of radio and education James Purnell 'something's got to give' over the pay disparity between men and women at the corporationÂ
Mr Purnell, pictured, said male BBC stars could face wages cuts but there would not be a 'cookie cutter approach'
The debate on Newsnight, pictured, came after it was revealed the top seven highest earners at the BBC were all male, with no woman earning more than £500,000Â
Wark asked if male talents would be asked given pay cuts and said: 'Are you going to say to Gary Lineker you're earning, what is it, £2.6million can you just give £600,000 up so we can bring new female talent on in sport?'
Mr Purnell said the corporation 'was doing that already' and was then challenged by Wark when he suggested the lowest paid person on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme was a man.
She said: 'Seeing as you mentioned the Today programme Sarah Montague is a senior presenter on the Today Programme. She's not been there as long as John Humphrys, [but] she does over 100 programmes a year, she's not even on the list.
'How on earth does that happen? She has been on that programme for more than 12 years and somehow she's not on the list, isn't that a mistake?'
Mr Purnell said he would not discuss individual salaries and said comparing pay was difficult because it was based on 'a number of factors' including experience.
On the possibility of pay cuts for male presenters, he added: 'I'm not going to start negotiating live on air, but that's clearly one of the levers we can pull, and we have been doing that.'
But he added there would not be a 'cookie cutter approach' and that deals would be examined on a case by case basis.
The corporation has defended the high salaries but pledged to 'achieve equality, on average, between men and women by 2020'.
The list is topped by Chris Evans (pictured today) who earned up to £2.25million last year followed by Gary Lineker on up to £1.8million
The BBC's top paid woman is Claudia Winkleman who earns up to £499,000 for her TV and radio work - around £1.75million less than the top man Chris Evans - and the One Show's Alex Jones earns £450,000 and is joint ninth
He said: 'We are already a bit better than the [gender pay gap] national average, but we want to go further.'
Earlier in the day Humphrys admitted he does not deserve his six-figure salary as much as other public sector workers.
Speaking on Radio 4's Media Show when asked if he felt he was worth the hefty pay cheque, the 73-year-old said: 'What do I do? On paper, absolutely nothing that justifies that amount of money.
'If you compare me with lots of other people - a doctor who saves a child's life, a nurse who comforts a dying person, or a fireman who rushes into Grenfell Tower - then of course you couldn't argue that I am not worth tuppence ha'penny.
'However, we operate in a market place and I think I provide a fairly useful service. Somebody has to do the job of trying to hold power to account and speak the truth about all that stuff.'
He added that he would 'of course' do his job for less money, adding: 'It's corny, forgive me, but I love almost everything about (the BBC), but not its bureaucracy, obviously.'
Wark confronted Mr Purnell about Humphrys comments and said: 'He's [Humphrys] said that actually he didn't look for pay rises, but he kept getting them.
'And he's also said that he doesn't want to go anywhere else, so actually that's not about the market, you just want to give John Humphrys lots of money.'
Mr Purnell replied: 'I never said it was just about the market. The market is one factor, but there's also the audience value and the value to the BBC'.Â
Chris Evans was the corporation's top earner last year on £2.25million, followed by Gary Lineker on £1.79million and Graham Norton on £899,999.
Strictly's Claudia Winkleman is the highest paid woman but she took home £1.75million less a year than Evans.Â
There is a growing discontent over the contrast between the pay of men and women with many comparing BBC Sport's Claire Balding's £199,000-a-year to Alan Shearer's £500,000 pay deal and John Inverdale's £249,000 salary.
BBC women are irate with many using the hashtags #notonthelist and #GenderPayGap while legal experts claim the BBC could now face a slew of sex discrimination claims by the BBC's fem ale presenters.Â
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