Why the BBC believed Martin Bashir

If it is true, as Lords Hall and Birt told a Commons committee this week, that Martin Bashir succeeded in duping all the five top BBC executives involved about the forged invoices by which he convinced Diana, Princess of Wales of the establishment’s conspiracy against her, then those executives must be very, very unworldly people. I am reluctant to believe that of them. There must be a different explanation, one with which, as an ex-editor, I have some sneaking sympathy. The interview got the BBC a wonderful story, so when trouble started shortly afterwards, that trouble had to be smoothed away. The problem was not only the BBC’s reputation, but also the careers of the five executives. How could Tony Hall ever have become director-general if the true story had come out at the time? How could John Birt have stayed director-general? It was important to believe a liar then, and becomes important to identify him as a liar now, for the same reason in both cases. Brilliant of Lord Hall to remind us of his humanity by repeating three or four times that Bashir had broken down in tears at their interview and saying that he, Tony, had felt he must give him a second chance.

What also makes me laugh is the BBC’s eventual solution to the fear that the Bashir problem might erupt again. Make him the religion editor! Like a bishop whose see is in partibus infidelium, Bashir was not seriously expected to visit his flock. He was to be paid and he was to stay quiet. If Lord Spencer had not piped up, Bishop Martin would presumably be wearing his episcopal purple still. I laughed again when, on the day of the committee hearing, BBC News led on the ‘institutional corruption’ of the police.