Carrie Gracie, who last night resigned from her post over equal pay, has said the broadcaster's top salaries are "unacceptably high".

Gracie, who was China Editor, revealed she turned down a £45k pay rise and suggested male journalists in equal roles to women should take a pay cut in order to close the gender wage gap.

She told BBC Woman's Hour: "I believe in public service broadcasting and I do think salaries at the top are unacceptably high both for presenters and stars of various kinds and also for managers.

"I didn't want more money, I wanted equality and this was not equality.

"There was still a big gap between myself and my male peers. This was an exercise in understanding how the BBC approached pay, and at the end of the exercise I felt the BBC was not approaching pay in an appropriate way."

The journalist also revealed that she had a six-month battle with the BBC, during which they did not make her pay equal to that of her male peers, who were earning significantly more.