Sopel: I tried to shut down ‘nuts’ off-air talk with John Humphrys

JON SOPEL, the BBC’S North America editor, has said he tried to shut down a “nuts” off-air conversation with John Humphrys about Carrie Gracie and the gender pay gap.

Speaking for the first time about the leaked recording, Sopel said he was unable to completely stop the discussion as he was “in the court of King John”.

The two were taped the day after Ms Gracie resigned from her post as China editor after learning she earned less than other foreign editors, including Sopel. At the time, she earned £135,000 while Sopel’s pay was in the £200,000 to £249,999 bracket.

Sopel told The Observer: “The conversation with John Humphrys was nuts. John is a big figure. I’m quite a senior journalist, but [when you’re with him], you are in the court of King John. If you listen, you can hear that I’m trying to shut it down. I’m thinking: stop it, stop it. I was in Washington at 11.30 at night, about to go to bed, and suddenly I was thrown a curve ball.”

The conversation began with Humphrys teasing Sopel, 58, by asking him how much of his salary he was “prepared to hand over to Carrie Gracie to keep her” at the BBC.

Sopel yesterday told the newspaper he found the pay gap row “incredibly uncomfortable”, adding: “I’m much happier reporting the news than making it. I found the whole thing ghastly on a personal level. I was quietly minding my own business. I had no idea what other people earned. Suddenly I was in the spotlight. I hated it.”