Questions for the BBC over Bashir’s health in Panorama inquiry

New emails have suggested disgraced journalist Martin Bashir was answering questions privately to bosses at the same time the BBC insisted publicly he was ‘too unwell’ to discuss his Panorama Diana interview. 

In 2021 an inquiry by Lord Dyson found that Bashir had acted in a ‘deceitful’ way to secure the infamous 1995 interview, which saw the Princess of Wales reveal ‘there were three of us’ in her marriage to Charles. 

The Mail on Sunday previously revealed how Mr Bashir had used forged bank statements and used rogue tactics to lure the princess into his trust and to secure the scoop. 

However in autumn 2020, as accusations were rising, the BBC said it couldn’t answer questions as it said Mr Bashir was ‘seriously unwell with Covid-19 related implications.’

As a result, they did not disclose more than 3,200 relevant emails under Freedom Of Information laws.  

In 2021 an inquiry by Lord Dyson found that Bashir (pictured in 2019) had acted in a ‘deceitful’ way to secure the infamous 1995 interview

Now, emails seen by the Daily Telegraph suggest that Mr Bashir was in fact capable of coherently discussing matters related to the accusations, raising questions for the BBC over their handling of the scandal, according to the paper. 

In November 2020 the corporation said: ‘Unfortunately we are hampered at the moment by the simple fact that we are unable to discuss any of this with Martin Bashir.’

However two days after their statement, Bashir managed to deny knowledge of forged bank statements to bosses – while three days later he was pictured arriving home after visiting a takeaway. 

In October 2020, director of news content Richard Burgess asked Mr Bashir whether he had been ‘seen in a club’ despite his poor health and about a handwritten note allegedly given to him by Diana after the interview.

He responded in detail to the handwritten note accusations but his club appearance paragraph was redacted. 

Fran Unsworth, the BBC’s director of news and current affairs, was informed about the email, it was shown.  

On November 5, Burgess asked Bashir about the alleged burglary of Matt Wiessler, a graphic designer who had unwittingly provided the forged bank statements. 

To this Mr Bashir managed to deny all knowledge.  

Fran Unsworth (pictured in 2018), the BBC’s director of news and current affairs, was informed about the email, it was shown

Mr Bashir was disgraced after it was revealed he made the Princess of Wales believe people close to her were being paid by the press to spy on her. 

The journalist, 60, first joined the BBC in 1986 before moving to ITV in 1999. 

He was rehired in 2016 as religious affairs correspondent before quitting in May 2021 due to ‘health reasons’.  

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘The BBC rejects any suggestion it has acted illegally. The BBC has a duty of care to all of its employees. 

‘As you would expect, given this duty of care owed to Martin Bashir (as a then BBC employee) it was necessary to contact him in 2020, but contact was focused mainly on his health and welfare. 

‘The fact there was contact between the BBC and Martin Bashir does not mean that he was, at that time, fit to participate in any detailed discussion of the events of 1995 – he wasn’t. 

‘This was ultimately undertaken independently by Lord Dyson in his investigation, once Martin’s health had improved.’