Inquest finds Bashir used ‘deceitful behaviour’ to secure famous 1995 interview with Diana – NationalWorld digital front page

An inquest’s findings that former BBC journalist Martin Bashir was ‘deceitful’ in obtaining an interview with Princess Diana leads tomorrws digital front page
Inquest finds Bashir used ‘deceitful behaviour’ to secure famous 1995 interview with Diana – NationalWorld digital front page  (Photo: NationalWorld)Inquest finds Bashir used ‘deceitful behaviour’ to secure famous 1995 interview with Diana – NationalWorld digital front page  (Photo: NationalWorld)
Inquest finds Bashir used ‘deceitful behaviour’ to secure famous 1995 interview with Diana – NationalWorld digital front page  (Photo: NationalWorld)

Former BBC journalist Martin Bashir used “deceitful behaviour” and was in “serious breach” of the BBC’s producer guidelines to secure his Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, an official inquiry has concluded.

The BBC “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark” in a subsequent investigation, according to a report by Lord Dyson.

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The former master of the rolls and head of civil justice was appointed to look into the circumstances surrounding the explosive 1995 interview, which famously featured Diana saying: “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

And a new episode of Panorama which aired tonight looked deeper into the 1995 interview said Bashir acted deviously and dishonestly by forging bank statements to try and gain access to the princess.

Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, who organised the interview after Bashir won his trust with the bank statements, told Panorama that he “draws a line” between the interview and his sister’s death two years later.

He told the new BBC programme: "The irony is that I met Martin Bashir on the 31st of August 1995 because exactly two years later she died, and I do draw a line between the two events.”

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Elsewhere, JPI Media’s editor in chief David Montgomery asks whether this scandal will bury the myth of the virtuous BBC?

Inquest finds Bashir used ‘deceitful behaviour’ to secure famous 1995 interview with Diana – NationalWorld digital front page (Photo: NationalWorld)Inquest finds Bashir used ‘deceitful behaviour’ to secure famous 1995 interview with Diana – NationalWorld digital front page (Photo: NationalWorld)
Inquest finds Bashir used ‘deceitful behaviour’ to secure famous 1995 interview with Diana – NationalWorld digital front page (Photo: NationalWorld)

Catcalled? Call the police, says top DI

A leading police officer has told NationalWorld that women should report incidents of catcalling, even if they seem relatively innocent, because “it may help to join the dots within their intelligence or build a bigger picture of that person committing the catcalling, if they are a repeat offender”.

Carly Roberts spoke with Detective Inspector Liz Basham of Northamptonshire Police, who works in a team looking into rape and serious sexual offences.

DI Basham gave the hypothetical scenario of a female walking home and being followed by a man engaging in sexualised conversation and she manages to find safety.

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She said: “If that’s not reported we wouldn’t find out about it and we wouldn’t be able to link it to the three or four times this person has done it previously,” she added.

“That person could continue this behaviour and it could escalate, so we are not learning about these dangerous people.

“We are not learning about vulnerable places and locations, places where this might happen time and time again - we need to know about that so we can put investment into that area with partner agencies to make it safer.

“If you’re feeling like it’s minor - or I don’t want to waste police time - well, actually, you can put the report in and we can make the decision on what lines of inquiry might come from it.”

Underpaid BCA drivers launch fight for worker’s rights

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A law firm has launched a bid to get professional drivers who work for the British Car Auctions recognised as employees, as they are currently paid ‘as little as £4 per hour’.

Drivers are currently treated as self-employed, meaning they do not receive worker’s rights such as holiday pay and national minimum wage.

One worker said that while the job is ‘quite an enjoyable role,’ staff feel ‘taken advantage of’ by the firm.

Drivers deliver cars to their new owners, wearing BCA uniforms and on terms dictated by the company, but are not treated as employees.

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He said: “The whole atmosphere between the drivers and the people sat in head office is fraught. It feels like their goal is to get as much work out of the drivers as possible for as little pay as they can.

“BCA is a huge multi-billion-pound company and has a very public face in the UK with its other companies webuyanycar.com and Cinch, yet they knowingly exploit vulnerable and marginalised people.”

Leigh Day is supporting a group of drivers to mount a legal challenge which would force the firm to recognise them as employees and provide worker’s rights.

The firm argues that, because of the way the company operates, couriers should be classed as workers, and that thousands could be eligible to claim back pay for unpaid holidays and shortfalls between money earned and the national minimum wage.