The organisation, which is funded by the taxpayer, has come under intense scrutiny after it’s China news editor quit in a row over pay discrepancies.

Carrie Gracie, 55, stepped down as China editor due to the apparent pay difference with male colleagues and accused the BBC of having a “secretive and illegal pay culture”.

On Newsnight, presenter Evan Davis was left awkwardly trying to explain that his own bosses had claimed to be “unavailable” for an interview on the issue, despite working in the same building.

In an embarrassing segment of the late night analysis show, he said: “Well, we did ask to speak to the BBC today but nobody was available.”

The host quickly moved on to read out a statement from the organisation in a desperate attempt to quickly recover from the farcical excuse given by the BBC executives.

It did not take long before viewers expressed their thoughts of the absence of a BBC representative from the show on Twitter.

Ned Lamb, the son of former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, described the BBC’s failure to respond as “ridiculous” and “laughable”.

Trying to help find a BBC representative Glen Griffiths jokingly suggested: “Tip, try the canteen.”

Meanwhile, another user said “I am sure I saw this episode of Newsnight on W1A” as they compared the serious news programme to a satirical TV show that openly ridicules the BBC was its corporate red tape and disorganisation.

Ms Gracie left her role at the Beijing bureau last week claiming the BBC was facing a “crisis” as it emerged two-thirds of its stars earning more than £150,000 were men.

The mother-of-two, who battled cancer in 2012, was one of the main morning presenters for the BBC News Channel for six years from January 2008 and also hosted World Service’s The Interview.

In October 2008, she was presented with the inaugural Nick Clarke Award for her interview with BBC journalist Alan Johnston who was kidnapped by the Palestinian Army of Islam in 2007.

In the statement read out on Newsnight, the uncomfortable looking Mr Davis said: “The organisation said that fairness in pay was vital and that the BBC was performing better than some organisations.

“The BBC’s conducted a judge led audit of the pay of most of its staff and is now doing a separate review off on air staff.”

The discrepancy in pay between men and women at the BBC was revealed last July when a change in the law meant that the broadcaster was legally obliged to disclose the pay of anyone earning over £150,000.