Former BBC director-general Lord Tony Hall has told MPs that he “trusted” Martin Bashir and “gave him a second chance” – but that trust was “abused and misplaced”.
Lord Tony Hall is giving evidence to the DCMS (digital, culture, media and sport committee) about events leading up to Bashir‘s now infamous Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1995, as well as the broadcaster’s handling of investigations into how he obtained the world exclusive scoop.
It comes following the publication of the Dyson report in May, which criticised methods used to secure the bombshell interview – which saw Diana discussing her break-up with Prince Charles and life inside the Royal Family.
Bashir returned to the BBC as religion correspondent in 2016, some two decades after the Panorama episode that made him a household name in journalism and 17 years after he originally left for ITV. He was promoted to religion editor in 2018, but quit citing health issues ahead of the Dyson report being published.