BBC chiefs must do more to close the equal pay gap, MPs told the broadcaster today.

Shadow culture secretary Tom Watson said the weekend resignation of China editor Carrie Gracie had highlighted the issue of unequal pay at the BBC, in broadcasting and in society more generally.

“This story shows that there is still a very long way to go,” he told the Commons during an urgent question.

The journalist, who is returning to her old job in the TV newsroom, has worked at the BBC for 30 years and led its China coverage since 2014.

She said she resigned as China editor after discovering an “enormous gap” between her £135,000-a-year salary and that of her male counterparts.

A report on on-air presenter salaries will be published by the BBC in the next few weeks. But new Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said during the debate that much more action will be needed.

Mr Hancock told MPs that it is the responsibility of the Equality and Human Rights Commission — which has had its budget slashed by the government — to police equal pay complaints.

The EHRC has said it will write to the BBC over claims of unlawful pay discrimination made by Ms Gracie. “Women have a legal right to equal pay with men for equal work,” the commission said in a statement.

The overall pay gap at the BBC stands at about 9 per cent, Mr Hancock said. Two thirds of those earning over £150,000 were men.

People with salaries over about £95,000 are in the top 2 per cent of wage-earners in Britain.

There is also a lack of staff from black and minority ethnic backgrounds among the highest-paid, Mr Hancock said.