The editor of the BBC’s Today programme has been forced to defend himself against allegations of sexism, following comments about female presenters.
Last week, when asked by the BBC why more women than men worked on BBC television news than on Today, Thomas said: “Those are slightly easier jobs. They are difficult jobs but the skillset you need to work on the Today programme and the hide that you need, the thickness of it, that is something else.”
But Thomas, writing in today’s Guardian, said his original comments had been misrepresented in “overcooked and under-researched” articles, although he admitted he could have been clearer.
He said the lack of women on the Today programme was due to a shortage of senior female journalists.