By . Paul Revoir . PUBLISHED: . 06:51 EST, 21 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:40 EST, 28 December 2012 . The BBC has apologised on air after a Mensa member appearing as a guest on one of its shows said anyone with an IQ of around 60 was ‘probably a carrot’. Peter Baimbridge made the comment during a live discussion about IQ testing on BBC Breakfast. A number of viewers contacted the programme to complain that the remark insulted people with learning difficulties. Scroll down for video . Offensive: Mensa tester Peter Bainbridge compared anybody with an IQ 'around 60' to a carrot while appearing on BBC Breakfast . Guest: Mr Bainbridge was being interviewed by presenters Charlie Stayt and Louise Minchin about IQ testing . Mr Baimbridge, an IQ test . administrator, had been asked to explain why the testing was unreliable. After saying that most IQ tests would have ‘Mr and Mrs Average scoring . 100’ he added that if your IQ is ‘somewhere around 60 then you are . probably a carrot’. The remark initially drew a smile from . Louise Minchin, but she and co-host Charlie Stayt then read out some of . the complaints on air. At the end of the programme they . apologised for the remarks and read out a personal apology from Mr . Baimbridge. One viewer, an employee of learning disability charity . Mencap, said she was ‘shocked’ and ‘disgusted’ by the comments. Ciara Evans, who has a learning disability, said: ‘I am shocked that someone has described people like me as carrots. Average: Asked to explain IQ testing Mr Bainbridge said that most IQ testing 'will have MR and Mrs average scoring around 100' Laughing: Co-host Louise Minchin seen laughing after Mr Bainbridge compared anybody with an IQ of around 60 with a carrot . ‘We can achieve a lot in life. I live independently, have a full-time job and I’m getting married next year. ‘I am disgusted that he made this . comment, and on behalf of all the people who have tweeted, rung and . emailed Mencap to say how upset they are, I think Mensa should apologise . and he should engage his brain before his mouth. ‘It seems that having a high IQ . doesn’t make you a sensitive or caring human being.’ One of the . complaints read out on air came from a Dr Sullivan who said: ‘As a . clinical psychologist who has worked with many people who have an IQ . below 60, I find these comments to be offensive and completely . incorrect. ‘Such comments perpetuate the stigma . around an individual with learning difficulties.’ According to Mencap, . 1.5million people in the UK have a learning disability. A BBC spokesman . said: ‘Clearly we do not condone the comments that were made in any way . and sincerely apologise for the offence caused.’ Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, . and Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer, who wanted to form a society for . people with a high IQ. It has over 110,000 members worldwide, and to become a member of, . you must score in the top two percent of the population on a properly . administered IQ test. Members include Carol Vorderman, whose IQ is 154, and Jimmy Savile was a member of the society. One its its best known members is Sir Clive Sinclair (right), who was chairman . for 17 years from 1980 to 1997. Computer pioneer Sinclair was even . briefly engaged to 21-year-old accountant and fellow Mensa-member . Bernadette Tynan (IQ 154) in 1989. Mensa has been riddled with infighting and scandal since it was founded. Julie Baxter from Lancashire with an IQ of 154, was appointed chair in . 1997 supposedly to change everything - but after nine months was booted . out, saying the committee was obsessed with 'self-aggrandisement and the . pursuit of power for its own sake', and that some of the men on it are . 'sad people with no social life' who are obsessed with Mensa. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . What your IQ score means . IQ, meaning intelligence quotient, is a test to assess intelligence. The term was originally coined by German psychologist William Stern. A score of 90-100 is considered an average IQ. IQs between 110-120 are considered to show superior intelligence. IQs greater than 140 are said to signify genius, with scientist Stephen Hawking predicted to have the highest IQ achievable of 161. People with IQs below 70 are said to have learning difficulties . Mensa, founded in 1946 as a society . for people with a high IQ, apologised via its website for the ‘totally . inappropriate’ comment which ‘does not represent the society’s official . position or view’. It emphasised that Mr Baimbridge had apologised and . had not intended any offence. Chief executive John Stevenage added . that Mensa ‘fully recognises that it is not what level of mental ability . someone has but what they do with it that is the real achievement in . life’. Mensa, founded in England in 1946 by barrister Roland Berrill and scientist Dr Lance Ware, represents those whose IQs are in the ‘top two per cent of the population’. The society, which welcomes members of any age, has the aim of providing ‘stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members’ and hoping to encourage ‘human intelligence for the benefit of humanity’. Complaints: The presenters read out complaints about the comments later in the programme. One viewer described the comment as 'insulting' Dreadful: Users on Twitter complained about the comment made on BBC Breakfast . The society also exists globally through umbrella organisation Mensa international. High-profile . members have included television presenter Carol Vorderman, anti-virus . software pioneer John McAfee and Jimmy Savile. Other recognisable members, known as Mensans, include director Quentin Tarantino and actors Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin. Mr Bainbridge’s comment drew derision online, with users taking to Twitter to complain about the comparison between somebody with a low IQ and a carrot. Rich Jobling wrote: ‘Proof that being clever can make you look stupid’, while Amanda Price said: ‘very concerned that the man from Mensa described someone with an IQ of 60 as being a carrot. This is highly offensive .’ Internet users described Mr Bainbridge’s remark as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘dreadful’, while one user, referring to himself as Markwell, wrote: ‘Mensa you have an idiot as an ambassador’. Alison Hume reflected on the comment, saying ‘so much work still to do’. Video: Presenters respond to complaints about 'carrot' comment . VIDEO: Mensa member calls people with an IQ of 60 'carrots'
Peter Bainbridge made 'offensive' remark while discussing IQ testing .
Interviewed by presenters Louise Minchin and Charlie Stayt .
Presenters forced to read complaints and apologise .
Viewers described comment as 'insult' to those with learning difficulties .
By . Paul Revoir . PUBLISHED: . 06:51 EST, 21 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:40 EST, 28 December 2012 . The BBC has apologised on air after a Mensa member appearing as a guest on one of its shows said anyone with an IQ of around 60 was ‘probably a carrot’. Peter Baimbridge made the comment during a live discussion about IQ testing on BBC Breakfast. A number of viewers contacted the programme to complain that the remark insulted people with learning difficulties. Scroll down for video . Offensive: Mensa tester Peter Bainbridge compared anybody with an IQ 'around 60' to a carrot while appearing on BBC Breakfast . Guest: Mr Bainbridge was being interviewed by presenters Charlie Stayt and Louise Minchin about IQ testing . Mr Baimbridge, an IQ test . administrator, had been asked to explain why the testing was unreliable. After saying that most IQ tests would have ‘Mr and Mrs Average scoring . 100’ he added that if your IQ is ‘somewhere around 60 then you are . probably a carrot’. The remark initially drew a smile from . Louise Minchin, but she and co-host Charlie Stayt then read out some of . the complaints on air. At the end of the programme they . apologised for the remarks and read out a personal apology from Mr . Baimbridge. One viewer, an employee of learning disability charity . Mencap, said she was ‘shocked’ and ‘disgusted’ by the comments. Ciara Evans, who has a learning disability, said: ‘I am shocked that someone has described people like me as carrots. Average: Asked to explain IQ testing Mr Bainbridge said that most IQ testing 'will have MR and Mrs average scoring around 100' Laughing: Co-host Louise Minchin seen laughing after Mr Bainbridge compared anybody with an IQ of around 60 with a carrot . ‘We can achieve a lot in life. I live independently, have a full-time job and I’m getting married next year. ‘I am disgusted that he made this . comment, and on behalf of all the people who have tweeted, rung and . emailed Mencap to say how upset they are, I think Mensa should apologise . and he should engage his brain before his mouth. ‘It seems that having a high IQ . doesn’t make you a sensitive or caring human being.’ One of the . complaints read out on air came from a Dr Sullivan who said: ‘As a . clinical psychologist who has worked with many people who have an IQ . below 60, I find these comments to be offensive and completely . incorrect. ‘Such comments perpetuate the stigma . around an individual with learning difficulties.’ According to Mencap, . 1.5million people in the UK have a learning disability. A BBC spokesman . said: ‘Clearly we do not condone the comments that were made in any way . and sincerely apologise for the offence caused.’ Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, . and Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer, who wanted to form a society for . people with a high IQ. It has over 110,000 members worldwide, and to become a member of, . you must score in the top two percent of the population on a properly . administered IQ test. Members include Carol Vorderman, whose IQ is 154, and Jimmy Savile was a member of the society. One its its best known members is Sir Clive Sinclair (right), who was chairman . for 17 years from 1980 to 1997. Computer pioneer Sinclair was even . briefly engaged to 21-year-old accountant and fellow Mensa-member . Bernadette Tynan (IQ 154) in 1989. Mensa has been riddled with infighting and scandal since it was founded. Julie Baxter from Lancashire with an IQ of 154, was appointed chair in . 1997 supposedly to change everything - but after nine months was booted . out, saying the committee was obsessed with 'self-aggrandisement and the . pursuit of power for its own sake', and that some of the men on it are . 'sad people with no social life' who are obsessed with Mensa. ------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- . What your IQ score means . IQ, meaning intelligence quotient, is a test to assess intelligence. The term was originally coined by German psychologist William Stern. A score of 90-100 is considered an average IQ. IQs between 110-120 are considered to show superior intelligence. IQs greater than 140 are said to signify genius, with scientist Stephen Hawking predicted to have the highest IQ achievable of 161. People with IQs below 70 are said to have learning difficulties . Mensa, founded in 1946 as a society . for people with a high IQ, apologised via its website for the ‘totally . inappropriate’ comment which ‘does not represent the society’s official . position or view’. It emphasised that Mr Baimbridge had apologised and . had not intended any offence. Chief executive John Stevenage added . that Mensa ‘fully recognises that it is not what level of mental ability . someone has but what they do with it that is the real achievement in . life’. Mensa, founded in England in 1946 by barrister Roland Berrill and scientist Dr Lance Ware, represents those whose IQs are in the ‘top two per cent of the population’. The society, which welcomes members of any age, has the aim of providing ‘stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members’ and hoping to encourage ‘human intelligence for the benefit of humanity’. Complaints: The presenters read out complaints about the comments later in the programme. One viewer described the comment as 'insulting' Dreadful: Users on Twitter complained about the comment made on BBC Breakfast . The society also exists globally through umbrella organisation Mensa international. High-profile . members have included television presenter Carol Vorderman, anti-virus . software pioneer John McAfee and Jimmy Savile. Other recognisable members, known as Mensans, include director Quentin Tarantino and actors Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin. Mr Bainbridge’s comment drew derision online, with users taking to Twitter to complain about the comparison between somebody with a low IQ and a carrot. Rich Jobling wrote: ‘Proof that being clever can make you look stupid’, while Amanda Price said: ‘very concerned that the man from Mensa described someone with an IQ of 60 as being a carrot. This is highly offensive .’ Internet users described Mr Bainbridge’s remark as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘dreadful’, while one user, referring to himself as Markwell, wrote: ‘Mensa you have an idiot as an ambassador’. Alison Hume reflected on the comment, saying ‘so much work still to do’. Video: Presenters respond to complaints about 'carrot' comment . VIDEO: Mensa member calls people with an IQ of 60 'carrots'
Mensa tester Peter Bainbridge compared anybody was being interviewed by presenters Charlie Stayt and Louise Minchin about IQ testing . Mr around an individual with learning difficulties.’ viewer described the comment as 'insulting'