Feminists deface BBC pictures

Official photographs of some of the BBC's most famous male presenters and journalists have been defaced inside the corporation's White City headquarters in an overnight graffiti raid by feminists.

Staff arriving for work were astonished to see pictures of Jeremy Paxman, Alan Titchmarsh, Nick Clarke, John Humphrys and Andrew Marr adorned with Edna Everage-style spectacles and the graffiti slogan "What about the grils?" - thought to be a deliberate misspelling of girls.

Before their hasty removal for cleaning, the photos were hanging in a corridor near the Today studio. There are dozens of pictures in the building of BBC personalities, but those of female celebrities, including Anna Ford, Jennie Bond, Sue Barker, Sue Cook and Kirsty Wark were left untouched.

One of the women thought to be responsible for the raid told the BBC staff magazine Ariel that there could be more "incidents" if the corporation did not change its policy towards women.

She said: "The trouble with subversive groups is you never know where they will strike next. We might break into transmission and change the channel logos to BBC One Gender."

An official BBC spokesman (a man) said: "We can confirm that there was an overnight protest. I think it's safe to say there's going to be some pretty extensive rearrangement of pictures on the ground floor corridor. "

Last year Sue MacGregor complained publicly that she was being paid less than her male co-presenters on Today, but the BBC prides itself on its anti-sexist credentials and has a high number of female senior executives.

The most spectacular protest to hit the BBC was in 1988, when a militant group of lesbians evaded security and forced their way into a TV studio while the Six O'Clock News was being broadcast.

Sue Lawley continued reading the news while co-presenter Nicholas Witchell battled with the invaders, who were eventually led away in handcuffs by BBC security staff.

Earlier this year the BBC war correspondent Kate Adie caused a row by criticising TV chiefs for putting looks before professional ability.

Calling herself an "ageing old trout", she said: "They want women with cute faces, cute bottoms and nothing else in between."

However, a survey earlier this year suggested that the huge pay given to attractive young women presenters could be a waste of money.

A study by the Independent Television Commission found viewers value qualities such as knowledge, intelligence and credibility far above youth and looks.