The BBC pays white staff less on average than their ethnic minority colleagues in every pay band bar one, figures show.

Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnic minority employees received 13.2pc higher median pay than white workers in the corporation’s lowest pay band, and 5.3pc more in the highest pay band.

White employees’ median pay was higher – by 0.6pc – in just one out of seven pay scales. This is despite the BBC’s commitment to “fair, clear and competitive” pay.

Its annual report also showed that women in senior leadership roles were paid 1.4pc more than senior men on average; disabled managers were paid 7.5pc more than able-bodied staff; and the highest-paid LGBTQ+ employees earned 8.8pc more on average than “non LGBTQ+” colleagues.

The broadcaster’s “pay gap” report said men, the able-bodied, straight and white workers all still benefited from higher average wages when measured as a whole, with its overall ethnicity pay gap standing at 0.7pc in favour of white workers and 7.6pc in favour of men.

This is because higher proportions of staff from these groups take up a greater share of the top-paying jobs, bringing up the overall average.

However, it said there had been an increase in the proportion of ethnic minority employees in higher-paying jobs last year, resulting in the “largest year-on-year movement” in its figures.

The numbers are likely to stoke wider concerns over internal diversity targets and staff development schemes, which critics have condemned as un-meritocratic.

During his time in Government, he led a campaign for pay transparency at the corporation which revealed a stark gender pay gap at the top end of the organisation.

“The BBC quite rightly put this discrepancy right, but I would expect the same principle of fair pay to apply to all characteristics, be it race, sexuality, or indeed gender,” Sir John added.

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