‘Listeners’ champion Humphrys has Today job as long as he likes’

JOHN HUMPHRYS can present the Today programme for as long as he likes because he is the voice of older listeners, according to his BBC boss.

Critics have accused Humphrys of being out of touch, and he has come under fire both for asking Rupert Everett if he regretted coming out as gay and for “mansplaining” fashion to Alexandra Shulman, the former editor of Vogue. Some Remainers believe Humphrys is biased in favour of Brexit.

But he was defended by Sarah Sands, editor of the flagship Radio 4 pro- gramme, who said he was “the listeners’ champion”.

“We’ve got five presenters, they’ve all got great strengths and complementary ones. And if you all have the ‘mono’ view of a 23-year-old you’re not representing [everyone],” she said.

“Actually, those presenters are extremely representative of different shades. A lot of people would listen to him and think the same.”

Asked if Humphrys, 75, is an untouchable figure on the Today programme and will remain in the job until he decides to retire, Sands said: “I think everyone will decide when it seems right, and he above all will know when it feels right.

“He’s extremely curious, extremely engaged, fantastically interested in new subjects and new people, particularly the ‘real’ stories that people have.

“The overall purpose for him is the pursuit of truth, and he’s actually very uninterested in his own celebrity. As long as that remains an imperative and he’s enjoying it ...” She added that Humphrys has “a huge following. If you looked at the mailbag from listeners, they absolutely see that he’s the listeners’ champion.”

The Today programme became a focus for the gender pay row when it emerged last year that Sarah Montague and Mishal Husain were paid a fraction of Humphrys’s salary.

But Sands told a meeting of the Broadcasting Press Guild that the issue had died down. “That storm is passing. It seems pretty peaceful,” she said.

“It’s pretty equitable since John took a huge [pay] cut. John wanted to make the sacrifice.” Humphrys is said to have accepted a reduction from £600,000£650,000 to £250,000-£300,000.

Sands also told the Broadcasting Press Guild she wanted to “attract a younger listener” to the Today programme.

“There’s something about just making it interesting for them,” she said.