THE BBC pay row has deepened amid claims staff in Scotland are being treated as "second-class citizens" with salaries lagging way behind their London counterparts.

Workers based at Pacific Quay were among those to voice their anger a day after the corporation published a list of those on-air stars who earn £150,000 or more.

None of the 96 broadcasters were based in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or the English regions and the National Union of Journalists said it showed that Scotland "lags behind" London.

One well-known name, BBC Scotland weather presenter, Judith Ralston, wrote on social media: "I was so shocked to see how much some of my colleagues earn. I can't even get a pay rise of a few hundred quid."

The National Union of Journalists described the pay gap between the top presenters and BBC Scotland employees as “abysmal”.

Paul Holleran, national organiser for the NUJ in Scotland, said: “Over the last decade, BBC Scotland and its staff have been treated abysmally and like second-class citizens.

“The resources coming into Scotland fall far short of those going elsewhere in the UK. Only 55 per cent of the licence fee is returned to Scotland while 100 per cent goes back to England and Wales and 76 per cent to Northern Ireland.

“There has been some progress recently with the BBC’s announcement that they will invest around £30 million in Scotland and the creation of 80 journalist jobs, which we welcome, but we still lag far behind the investment made in the rest of the UK.”

He also criticised the disparity between the high salaries paid to ‘star’ presenters and those paid to ordinary presenters and journalists.

“It’s obscene," he said. "This obsession with celebrity status is like a national illness and the level of unfairness is on a scale that no-one can imagine.”

An insider at BBC Scotland also criticised the “enormous disparity” between the multi-million pound sums paid to stars such as Chris Evans and Gary Lineker, and those paid to the backroom staff who produce much of the television and radio output.

“Everyone is talking about these huge salaries and how poorly they are paid in comparison,” he said.

“The disparity between London and Scotland is infuriating – I can guarantee no radio presenter in Scotland will be making anything like the salaries paid to Today presenter John Humphrys and television news presenter Evan Davis. London is a different world.

“As for the gender pay gap, there has always been a disparity between how much men and women are paid in the BBC.

“We may have a new female Doctor Who, but that doesn’t mean equality has been achieved. It will be interesting to see if Jodie Whittaker is paid the same as David Tennant and Peter Capaldi – and there will be questions asked if she isn’t.”

The BBC salary list showed that Ken MacQuarrie, director of nations and regions earned between £200,000 and £249,000 in the last financial year, while Donalda MacKinnon, BBC Scotland director, earned between £150,000 and £199,999.

Colin Blane, the award-winning former Scotland Correspondent for the BBC, pointed out that the management has always been paid far more than the people who were the “public face and voice” of the BBC.

“The list of high salaries revealed that while 96 top presenters were paid £28 million between them, 105 senior managers earned a total of £42 million.

“There are disparities in BBC salaries between management and journalists, men and women, and between those who work in Scotland and from London.”

A BBC spokesman said: "Many Scottish presenters, journalists and actors are among the BBC's most well-known names, including Laura Kuenssberg, Kirsty Wark, Andrew Marr, Andrew Neil, Laurie Brett and Peter Capaldi.

"In a competitive industry there are a whole range of factors which will impact on how much someone is paid for each piece of work they do – so it is not possible to make a like for like comparison."