The BBC Dossier That Could Prove Cover-Up of Bashir's Diana Deception
Before the infamous Panorama interview where Martin Bashir deceived Princess Diana onto primetime TV through a series of lies, he was largely unknown in media circles. However, he possessed a charm that was both inventive and hard to resist. Bashir had a talent for flattering people effectively.
A colleague said: "Like a snake charmer, he was fantastic at looking in your eyes and telling you, 'You're brilliant!' He was terrific at doing sincerity."
His cunning nature and ability to deceive even the most experienced journalists became evident when he joined Panorama and approached Tom Mangold, a veteran reporter with 30 years of BBC experience. Mangold, who had produced 120 Panorama films and specialized in exposing frauds, considered himself good at spotting charlatans.
"One day Martin took me to one side and said, 'Mr Mangold, I'm sorry to trouble you, but I just wanted to tell you that my brother recently died and on his deathbed he said to me, "Martin, when you get to Panorama, imitate Tom Mangold. Operate like him, and you will become as successful as he is." I was really touched."
Later, Mangold discovered Bashir had told the same story to other journalists like Mike Nicholson at ITV and John Humphrys. Bashir's ambition was to become a celebrity journalist like them and to join their ranks, he needed to pull off a significant scoop.
Summary
Martin Bashir used charm and deception to climb the journalistic ladder, fabricating stories to manipulate veteran reporters and achieve celebrity status.