London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Ex-BBC boss condemns Bashir deceit to land Diana interview

Ex-BBC boss condemns Bashir deceit to land Diana interview

John Birt describes episode to MPs as ‘one of the biggest crimes in the history of broadcasting’

The deceit employed by Martin Bashir to land his sensational 1995 Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales has been branded “one of the biggest crimes in the history of broadcasting” by John Birt, the BBC’s director general at the time.

Lord Birt, giving testimony to an inquiry by the House of Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee, said the lengths Bashir went to convince Diana and subsequently lie to bosses about his actions represented a “one-in-100-year occurrence of having a rogue reporter willing to deceive on this scale”.

Among his actions, Bashir faked bank statements to win the trust of Earl Spencer and, ultimately, Diana, then went on to lie to senior BBC executives who investigated his practices at the time.

“He started his BBC career on Songs of Praise and ends it as the BBC’s religious editor and in between perpetrates one of the biggest crimes in the history of broadcasting,” said Lord Birt, in testimony to the culture select committee of MPs investigating the affair.

“This was a serial liar on an industrial scale.”

Martin Bashir interviews Diana in 1995.


Last month, a damning inquiry, conducted by the former supreme court judge John Dyson, found Bashir used “deceitful behaviour” and said a 1996 internal investigation “covered up” known facts about how he secured the interview.
Advertisement

That investigation was led by the former director general Tony Hall, who was then head of BBC News, who ultimately concluded that Bashir was an “honest and honourable man”.

“I don’t think the words ‘honest and honourable’ 25 years on look appropriate at all,” Hall told the committee during a hostile one-hour session, in which he was asked if he destroyed a document pertinent to the internal investigation.

“We have not tried to conceal from the public – or anyone – any of the conclusions we came to 25 years ago. The notion that there’s been some consistent line that we’ve drawn under this trying to conceal something from the public is not true.”

Martin Bashir in 2019.


Hall said Bashir had appeared “contrite, inexperienced and out of his depth” in a lengthy interview during the investigation, resulting in a “yellow card” approach that allowed him to remain at the BBC until 1999.

“The thing I remember most vividly was that he ended up in tears,” said Hall. “I, we, the team gave him a second chance and that was abused and misplaced. We didn’t get to the bottom of the lies Bashir told us.”

John Nicolson, an SNP MP and former BBC News presenter, said Hall should “forfeit some of his lavish [BBC] pension” over failures including not asking Spencer if he had been shown the faked bank statements.

“I have been a public servant for 35 years,” said Hall, who has also run the Royal Opera House. “I have done a hell of a lot for the BBC and I think for the arts. And I regret this one thing we all got wrong because we were lied to by Bashir 25 years ago.”

On Monday, an internal BBC investigation into the rehiring of Bashir in 2016, when Hall was director general, cleared all those involved and found “no evidence” it was done to cover up the events of 1995.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×