World News – GB – BBC’s Martin Bashir, 57, ‘seriously ill’ with complications from Covid-19

BBC Religion Editor Martin Bashir « gravely ill » after facing complications from battle with COVID-19, according to BBC

Martin Bashir is « seriously » ill with complications from COVID-19, BBC spokesman says

The 57-year-old is the BBC News religious affairs correspondent and has been low-key on social media in recent weeks

The BBC has confirmed that Martin is very ill after contracting coronavirus and told us: ‘We are sorry to say that Martin is seriously ill with complications from Covid-19

« Everyone at the BBC wishes him a full recovery We ask that his privacy and that of his family be respected at this time »

The ethics of the interview are called into question in Diana: The Truth Behind the Interview

The documentary alleges that the reason she decided to participate in the BBC interview was because her brother, Earl Spencer, was shown fake bank statements created by someone working for the BBC

The documents showed payments worth £ 10,500 from two companies, one of which was News International and the other from a made-up company

The graphic designer who says he faked the false documents even explained in the documentary how he did it

Andrew said: « Speaking to those who were in Diana’s circle at the time, you could understand why those bank statements were a tipping point that made her sit down and talk about his life « 

The BBC made a statement acknowledging the document was shown to Earl Spencer, but said they had a letter from Diana confirming it had not misled her into taking the interview

But in 2007, it was claimed that this letter did not exist or had been a list, which Andrew casts doubt on

« If they received a letter basically saying that the Princess of Wales herself was very happy with the way the program was designed, it would protect them from any future concerns, » he said

The BBC told MirrorOnline: « The suggestion of criminal activity is a serious allegation, but, under these circumstances, laughable

A handwritten note from Princess Diana testified that the princess had not seen the « fictitious » bank statements and that they had no role in her decision to give the interview

« The BBC itself no longer has a physical copy of this memo, and therefore could not publish it under FOI in 2007 or even now, but its existence is documented in the BBC archives, and it is saw it, at the time, by the management of the BBC

« Questions about the ‘mock up’ of bank statements were covered in the press a quarter of a century ago

« BBC recordings at the time indicate that while we understand the documents were shown to Earl Spencer they were not shown to the Princess of Wales and that she had confirmed that they were not ‘had played no role in his decision to give what was, and still is, one of the most iconic interviews of the last half of the 20th century « 

Martin Bashir