Martin Bashir continues to haunt the BBC

In the annals of those connected with the contemporary Royal Family, it is hard not to see the journalist and broadcaster Martin Bashir as occupying the position of chief pantomime villain. He was launched to fame (some would say notoriety) when he interviewed Princess Diana for Panorama in 1995, eliciting the admission from her that ‘there were three of us in this marriage’. The show was met with mixed reactions. Prince William later suggested that it was a ‘major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse’.

Bashir left Britain for a lucrative career in the United States, and, from a professional perspective, all seemed to be going smoothly for him. Then it was revealed in November 2020 that Bashir had used forged bank statements to con Diana’s brother Earl Spencer into persuading his sister to grant the interview. His reputation promptly plummeted into the gutter. He had to give up his job as – of all things – religion editor at the BBC and since then has routinely refused to discuss the matter publicly, citing ill health.

The Panorama scandal has undoubtedly been one of the greatest stains on the reputation of the BBC over the past few decades. But now recently released documents have managed to make matters even worse.

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It has transpired that, a few months before Bashir was exposed, he was asked by Robin Seatter, head of BBC History, to justify his actions. Predictably, he blamed the rumours circulating on little more than envy and racism. He stated to Seatter that ‘I am sorry to hear that this so-called “forgery” story has reared its head again. It played no part in the interview but did allow professional jealousy, particularly within the corporation, to hang its hat on alleged wrongdoing.