BBC will review editorial policies and Martin Bashir hiring, says British broadcaster

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will review its editorial practices and investigate how journalist Martin Bashir was rehired, after the inquiry into his interview with Princess Diana, the board of BBC announced on Monday. The BBC will also investigate how journalist Martin Bashir, who conducted the interview and reportedly faked documents to gain the Spencer family’s trust, was rehired, a statement issued by the broadcaster’s board said.   An independent investigation concluded that Bashir tricked Princess Diana into giving the 1995 BBC television interview, in which she lifted the lid on her marriage to Prince Charles. On Monday, the board’s statement said, “We accepted Lord Dyson’s findings in full and reiterate the apology we have offered to all those affected by the failings identified. We must not just assume that mistakes of the past cannot be repeated today – we must make sure that this is the case.” “We recognise the impact that the events it describes has had on so many people, not least those whose lives were personally affected by what happened. We also acknowledge that audiences had a right to expect better from the BBC.” Stating that a detailed review of the effectiveness of BBC’s editorial policies and governance will be conducted, the board added that it had “confidence” that the “processes and guidelines in today’s BBC are much stronger than they were in 1995”. On Saturday, Tony Hall, a former BBC chief who was criticised for his “woefully ineffective” probe into Martin Bashir’s deception, resigned as chair of Britain’s National Gallery. Hall had led an earlier investigation into the interview and was later named head of the BBC. “As I said two days ago, I am very sorry for the events of 25 years ago and I believe leadership means taking responsibility,” he said in a statement released by the world-renowned London gallery. “I have always had a strong sense of public service and it is clear my continuing in the role would be a distraction to an institution I care deeply about”. Retired senior judge John Dyson said Bashir commissioned faked bank statements that falsely suggested some of Diana’s closest aides were being paid by the security services to keep tabs on her. Bashir then showed them to Diana’s brother Charles Spencer, in a successful bid to convince him to arrange a meeting between himself and Diana and earn her trust. Questions have long been asked about how Bashir convinced Diana to talk on the BBC’s flagship “Panorama” programme in November 1995, which was watched by a record 22.8 million people and won a string of television awards. In it, she famously said, “there were three people” in her marriage – her, Charles and his long-time mistress and now wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles – and also admitted adultery. Bashir, now 58, was little-known at the time of the interview but went on to have a high-profile career on US television networks, and interviewed stars such as Michael Jackson. With inputs from AFP