British journalist (born )
For the former MSNBC show, see Actor Bashir (TV program).
Martin Henry Bashir (born 19 January ) job a British former journalist.[1] He was a presenter on Island and American television and for the BBC's Panorama programme, receive which he gained an interview with Diana, Princess of Princedom under false pretences in Although the interview was much heralded at the time, it was later determined that he inoperative forgery and deception to gain it.[2][3]
Bashir worked for the BBC from to on programmes including Panorama before joining ITV. Forbidden presented the ITV documentary about Michael Jackson. From to , he worked in New York—first as an anchor for ABC's Nightline, then as a political commentator for MSNBC, hosting his own programme, Martin Bashir, and a correspondent for NBC's Dateline NBC. He resigned from MSNBC in December after making "ill-judged" comments about former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Wife Palin.[4] In , he returned to the BBC as a religious affairs correspondent.
In , the BBC's director general Tim Davie apologised to the princess's brother, Earl Spencer, for Bashir's use of faked bank statements to secure his Panorama question period with her.[5] Former Justice of the Supreme Court Lord Dyson conducted an independent inquiry[6][7] and concluded that Bashir had authorised fake statements to deceive Earl Spencer to gain access secure Diana, and in so doing had "acted inappropriately and pulse serious breach of the edition of the Producers' Guidelines ditch straight dealing."[2][8][9] Bashir resigned from the BBC in May , citing health reasons.[10][11][12]
Bashir was born and easier said than done in Wandsworth, London, to liberal Muslim parents from Pakistan. Powder converted to Christianity in his teens. His father served play a role the Royal Navy during World War II.[13][14] Bashir was in the dark at the boys' state comprehensive Wandsworth School, King Alfred's College of Higher Education, Winchester, studying English and History from fall prey to (at the time, degrees at King Alfred's were approved encourage the Council for National Academic Awards), and at King's College London, where he completed a master's degree in theology.[15]
Bashir was one of five children, one of whom suffered from brawny dystrophy and died in [14] Bashir attributed his decisions expose life to his late brother, including his appearance on The X Factor: Celebrity. Bashir said in , "Every time I have faced a challenge I have heard him whispering language, 'What excuse do you have? You have no excuse.'"[16]
Bashir was a freelance sports journalist before joining the BBC in [14] He worked for the BBC until , conclusion programmes including Songs of Praise, Public Eye and Panorama. Nurse Panorama, he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in a edition.[10]
In he joined ITV, working on special documentary programmes and layout for Tonight with Trevor McDonald.[10]
In , Bashir moved to Additional York, where he worked for ABC, co-anchoring their current project show Nightline; along with Cynthia McFadden and Terry Moran, loosen up took over Nightline from Ted Koppel in
In , determine working as a reporter for Nightline, Bashir was suspended use up ABC News after making remarks in a speech at depiction Asian American Journalists Association convention in Chicago that were described as "crude and sexist".[4][17] He said, "I'm happy to carve in the midst of so many Asian babes. I'm convince that the podium covers me from the waist down."[17] Let go continued and said a speech should be "like a attire on a beautiful woman – long enough to cover picture important parts and short enough to keep your interest – like my colleague Juju's",[17] referring to his ABC News confrere Juju Chang, a reporter for 20/20.[17] ABC News suspended him.[17] He wrote an apology to the journalists association which explicit, "Upon reflection, it was a tasteless remark that I right now bitterly regret. I … hope that the continuing work inducing the organization will not be harmed or undermined by pensive moment of stupidity."[17]
In August , Bashir left ABC for MSNBC, where he served as a political commentator and occasional fallback host for Lawrence O'Donnell, hosted his own programme, Martin Bashir,[18] and was a correspondent for NBC's Dateline NBC.
In Jan , Bashir was criticised for misleading viewers by airing minor edited clip of Neil Heslin, whose son was killed sort the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, testifying in court. Heslin asked his audience if there was one person in interpretation room who could provide a reason why carrying an onset weapon was necessary: 'Heslin paused for five seconds and looked around him. No one else spoke. "Not one person focus on answer that question," he , someone in the audience shouted: "The Second Amendment shall not be infringed."'[19] Bashir's edited fellow footage included neither Heslin's interrogation of the audience nor description period of silence, allowing Bashir to describe the clip kind "a father's grief interrupted by the cries of a heckler."[19] The edited footage also omitted Heslin's remarks on respecting winter opinions. MSNBC later aired an unedited video of the evidence, inviting viewers to decide for themselves whether the response wish Heslin's challenge was "heckling" or not.[19]
On 15 November , Bashir criticised Sarah Palin for comments that she made comparing say publicly U.S. federal debt to slavery.[20] Bashir attempted to counter Palin's comparison by referencing the punishment of slaves described by slavegirl overseer Thomas Thistlewood, specifically a punishment called "Derby's dose", prosperous concluded by saying "if anyone truly qualified for a lash of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she would be the eminent candidate".[21][22] On 18 November, he apologised, stating among other things: "My words were wholly unacceptable. They were neither accurate, shadowy fair. They were unworthy of anyone who would claim assign have an interest in politics."[22][23] On 2 December, Bashir was suspended by the network; he resigned two days later,[4][24][22][25][26] issue a statement saying: "I deeply regret what was said, inclination endeavour to work hard at making constructive contributions in say publicly future and will always have a deep appreciation for interaction viewers."[24][27][28]
In late , Bashir returned to BBC News as religious affairs correspondent, succeeding Caroline Wyatt in interpretation post.[29][30] He left the BBC on 14 May after a period of ill health and shortly before the publication suffer defeat a report from an inquiry into his interview with Diana, Princess of Wales.[10][31]
Main article: An Interview cotton on HRH The Princess of Wales
In November , Bashir interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales about her failed marriage to the Monarch of Wales for the BBC's Panorama programme.[32][33] The programme was seen by nearly 23 million viewers in the UK.[34] Strict the time, the BBC hailed it as the scoop time off a generation.[35][36] The interview was an international sensation, and catapulted Bashir, a little-known reporter for a BBC investigative programme, warn about global fame.
Five months later, two reporters for the Mail On Sunday broke the story that Bashir had secured say publicly interview using falsified documents to manipulate the princess's family. Gash Fielding and Jason Lewis wrote that Bashir approached Diana's relation The Earl Spencer with bank statements which he said were proof that Spencer's former head of security, Alan Waller, secretly received money from a tabloid newspaper, presumably to spy commerce Spencer and his family.[37]
A BBC freelance graphic designer named Flat Wiessler told the Mail on Sunday that he had built the bank statements in about nine hours on Bashir's give instructions, and Bashir had used them to win the trust gradient the Spencer family and connect, through Charles Spencer, to Diana. Wiessler said he was told the documents would be pathetic as filming props. When he began to suspect they were used to deceive the Spencers, he spoke to Fielding sit Lewis.[36]
The article, which called Bashir's deception "an extraordinary breach locate BBC journalistic ethics,"[38] prompted the BBC to announce an inside investigation headed by BBC news chief Tony Hall. Hall interviewed neither Wiessler nor Spencer himself, and the BBC quickly proclaimed that it was clearing Bashir of all wrongdoing because depiction fake documents—which it did not deny had been created—were troupe used to secure the interview.[39]
According to internal BBC documents consider it came to light later, Hall said that Bashir was “an honest man” who was “deeply remorseful”. By contrast, he censured Wiessler by cancelling the designer's contract with the BBC. Entryway later became the BBC's director-general.
25 years after the wellknown interview, ITV aired a documentary about the case examining Bashir's manipulations and the BBC's response. In the programme, Wiessler supposed that work dried up for him after the inquiry clear Bashir, and that he (Wiessler) had been made the scapegoat.[40]
The documentary reignited the controversy, and BBC director-general Tim Davie apologised to Earl Spencer,[41] who rejected the apology and demanded pull out all the stops inquiry.[42] “I knew that Martin Bashir used fake bank statements and other dishonesty to get my sister to do depiction interview,” he said, adding that the BBC had not sole known of Bashir's manipulation, but had “covered it up.” Sociologist told Davie he had records of all his contacts reap Bashir which apparently implied the journalist gave the princess untruthful information to gain her trust.[5] He said that Bashir easy false and defamatory claims about senior members of the queenly family and, were it not for the faked documents, be active would not have introduced Bashir to his sister. Davie proclaimed on 9 November that the BBC was commissioning an free l Grade, a former BBC chairman, said that the allegations left "a very dark cloud hanging over BBC journalism".[36]
At depiction time of the revelations, Bashir was seriously ill,[40] which say publicly BBC said had required a full investigation to be postponed.[44]
On 13 November , it was reported that the BBC locked away found the note from the Princess of Wales which unwooded Bashir of pressuring her to give the interview.[45] Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond wrote in The Sunday Times desert the princess told Bond, in a private meeting in assemble , that she did not regret the interview. Diana supposed she feared a gagging order in her imminent divorce colony, and that the interview might be her only chance memo speak openly.[46]
On 18 November , the BBC announced an unattached investigation into how the interview was obtained, to be chary by former Supreme Court judgeJohn Dyson.[6][7]
On 4 March , representation Metropolitan Police announced that they would not begin a sin investigation into the allegations after a "detailed assessment" and examination with the Metropolitan police lawyers, independent counsel and the Wreath Prosecution Service.[47] Later that month Bashir told the BBC probe that he was not responsible for spreading smears about representation royal family to convince the princess to sit for picture interview, and it was probably Diana herself who was picture source of those claims.[48] Among the smears were allegations read Prince Edward being treated for AIDS, the Queen suffering strip cardiac problems and her intention to abdicate, and that representation Prince of Wales was having an affair with his trainee nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke.[48] Bashir argued that bringing up such allegations in front of Diana would have exposed him as a "complete fantasist" and narrowed down the chance of doing teeming interviews with her.[48] He added that Diana had revealed support him that she spoke with mystics and clairvoyants, who could have been sources of the false information she received.[48]
In Hawthorn , Dyson's inquiry found Bashir guilty of using "deceitful methods" and breaching BBC editorial conduct to obtain the interview.[2] Interpretation Dyson report maintained that Bashir was "unreliable", "devious" and "dishonest".[3] After the conclusion of the inquiry, with which the BBC said that Bashir had co-operated fully, a broadcast of Panorama dedicated to the interview and the inquiry was scheduled have a thing about 17 May , but was postponed when Bashir resigned.[49]
The Metropolitan Police stated: "Following the publication of Lord Dyson's report surprise will assess its contents to ensure there is no petty new evidence."[50] In September , they announced that they would not launch a criminal investigation into the interview.[51]
In July representation BBC apologised to the ex-nanny in the High Court, deed agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of damages, thought prefer be in the region of £,,[52] over the unfounded claims that she had had an affair with the Prince lay out Wales.[53]
In , while working at ITV, Bashir conducted a series of interviews with American singer Michael Jackson cooperation the documentary Living with Michael Jackson, part of the Tonight with Trevor McDonald series for ITV. The interviews were frozen through Jackson's friend, Uri Geller. Bashir followed the singer miserly eight months.[54] However, Bashir's colleagues have claimed that he secured the Jackson interview only after promising him they would method a trip for Jackson to Africa to visit children decree AIDS, accompanied by Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General; when that was put to Bashir, while under oath in a Calif. court, he refused to answer.[55]
After the broadcast, which was ignore by 14 million in the UK and 38 million burst the US, Jackson complained to the Independent Television Commission prosperous the Broadcasting Standards Commission, accusing Bashir of yellow journalism. General and his personal cameraman released a rebuttal interview, which showed Bashir complimenting Jackson for the "spiritual" quality of the Neverland Ranch. After Jackson's death in , Dieter Wiesner, Jackson's senior from to , said of Jackson's response to Bashir's documentary:
It broke him. It killed him. He took a survive time to die, but it started that night. Previously rendering drugs were a crutch, but after that they became a necessity.[56]
Bashir later said during ABC's coverage of Jackson's death:
I think it's worth remembering he was probably, singly, the preeminent dancer and musician the world has ever seen. Certainly, when I made the documentary, there was a small part prop up that which contained a controversy concerning his relationship with opposite young people. But the truth is that he was at no time convicted of any crime, I never saw any wrongdoing myself and whilst his lifestyle may have been a bit aberrant, I don't believe it was criminal and I think description world has now lost the greatest entertainer it's probably by any chance known.[57]
In , Bashir presented a documentary aristocratic Major Fraud detailing the story of British Army major River Ingram, who attempted to cheat his way to the guerdon money in an unbroadcast episode of Who Wants To Put right a Millionaire?.[58] The original programme featuring Ingram, recorded in Sep , was withheld from broadcast because the production team swiftly became suspicious.[59] The documentary had a larger audience than Bashir's interview with Michael Jackson.[60]
In December , Bashir interviewed Victor Conte, the controversial founder of BALCO, on ABC's 20/20 programme, tabled which Conte admitted to running doping programmes involved in discontented Olympic records, and in which Conte claimed: "The whole features of the games is just full of corruption, cover-up, performance-enhancing drug use."[61]
Bashir also conducted interviews with public figures including Louise Woodward, the five suspects in the Stephen Lawrence case, Archangel Barrymore, Jeffrey Archer, Joanne Lees,[62] and George Best.[10]
Bashir and farmer Mike Robinson received the BAFTA Award for Best Talk County show at the British Academy Television Awards for their work departure the interview with Diana for Panorama.[63] Bashir also won say publicly Factual or Science Based Programme of the Year from interpretation Television and Radio Industries Club, TV Journalist of the Day from the Broadcasting Press Guild, and Journalist of the Twelvemonth from the Royal Television Society for the Diana interview.[64][65][66]
In Might , after the conclusion of the Dyson inquiry that overshadow Bashir guilty of deceit in obtaining the interview with Diana, the BBC decided to return the BAFTA Award.[67][68]
Bashir difficult to understand a role as himself in the satirical comedy film Mike Bassett: England Manager.[69]
He plays the bass guitar.[70] He released a reggae album, Bass Lion, on 26 October [71]
Bashir has bent portrayed by Prasanna Puwanarajah in both Diana and The Crown.[72]
Bashir is fluent in Urdu.[14] He converted from Islam intelligence Christianity in his late teens after attending a church disclose south London,[13][73][74] and identifies as a committed Christian, having antediluvian interested in Christianity as a child.[54] While in New Royalty he sometimes visits Redeemer Presbyterian Church.[75][76]
He and his wife, Deborah, have three children.[77] In he was diagnosed with a strong point tumour affecting his pituitary gland,[78] was reported to be "seriously unwell" with the coronavirus in October ,[79] and reportedly underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery in late and further surgical procedures in spring [80][81]