Paul Henry's racist comments finally caught up with him yesterday when he resigned from TVNZ after meeting the state broadcaster's chief executive.

NZ Herald reports that pressure has been mounting since Henry insulted the Governor General, Sir Anand Satyanand, last Monday, which caused a diplomatic row.

The insult followed previous derogatory comments he made about an Indian minister.

Henry, who won the Peoples' Choice award at the Qantas Television Awards three weeks ago, expressed shock about the impact of his actions and sadness that they had led to his resignation.

He says he walks the finest of lines and accepts that he has inadvertently crossed it from time to time.

But he says he recognises the realities of the situation.

Speculation was rife last night that TVNZ had agreed to pay six months' salary to Henry, believed to be about $150,000.

TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards said any financial settlement was a private matter for Henry.

She said "neither his salary nor any financial sorting out is taxpayer dollars".

TVNZ's chief executive, Rick Ellis said that as a result of Henry's comments, reviews were under way into the company's editorial policies and presenter code of conduct, particularly in live broadcasts.

Story by: Vijay Narayan