Female BBC presenters are considering a mass walkout over John Humphrys’ leaked remarks on the gender pay gap, it was reported last night.

Staff were said to be “incandescent” over the taped comments made by the Today programme presenter in conversation with Jon Sopel, the BBC’s North America editor.

A transcript seen by The Times disclosed yesterday that Humphrys, 74, teased Sopel, 58, about his involvement in Carrie Gracie’s resignation as China editor, asking: “How much of your salary are you prepared to hand over to Carrie Gracie to keep her?” The audio was leaked to BuzzFeed News today.

A job swap between Sarah Montague, a presenter on the Today programme, and Martha Kearney of World At One is on hold over a new pay