Martin Henry Bashir is a British former journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC’s Panorama programme, for which he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995.
Bashir worked for the BBC from 1986 to 1999 on programmes including Panorama before joining ITV. He presented the 2003 ITV documentary about Michael Jackson.
From 2004 to 2016, he worked in New York, first as an anchor for ABC’s Nightline and then as a political commentator for MSNBC, hosting his own programme, Martin Bashir, and a correspondent for NBC’s Dateline NBC.
He resigned from his position at MSNBC in December 2013 after making “ill-judged” comments about the former governor of Alaska and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In 2016, he returned to the BBC as a religious affairs correspondent.
In 2020, the BBC’s director general Tim Davie apologised to the brother of the princess, Earl Spencer, for Bashir’s use of faked bank statements to secure his 1995 Panorama interview with the Princess of Wales, Spencer’s sister. Bashir resigned from the BBC in May 2021, citing health reasons.
What did Bashir do to Princess Diana?
The Dyson Report found Bashir employed “deceitful methods” to gain Diana’s trust, including forging bank statements that fueled her paranoia that she was under surveillance: “Diana was being encouraged to believe that the palace was carefully monitoring her conversations and her movements,” says Harris.
In 2021, Prince William condemned the way the interview was obtained, saying: “The BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.”
“While she always wanted to talk, the way Bashir booked the interview is so discredited that his actions have to be taken into account,” says Nicholl.
“We don’t know how much the fears he instilled in her led her to do the interview or whether she would have gone as far as she went had she not been deceived—that is the big question.”
Did Bashir manipulate Diana?
Bashir seriously breached BBC rules by mocking up fake bank statements to gain access to the princess.
He showed the fake documents to Earl Spencer, to gain his trust so he would introduce Bashir to Diana.
By gaining access to Diana in this way, Bashir was able to persuade her to agree to give the interview.
And as media interest in the interview increased, the BBC covered up what it had learnt about how Bashir secured the interview. Lord Dyson said this “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark”.
A 1995 letter from Princess Diana – published as evidence – said she had “no regrets” concerning the matter.