IT seemed like yet another hyperbolic reaction inside the M25 bubble of London-centric media types when the BBC and ITN and every other broadcaster, not to mention gazillions on social media, went overboard about Lord Dyson’s report into the Princess Diana interview obtained by Martin Bashir in 1995.
Dyson’s overwhelmingly damning verdict on Bashir’s nefarious activities and the BBC’s cover up of them has already claimed some scalps. Bashir left his post as religious editor, apparently on health grounds, last week and yesterday Tim Suter, previously the managing editor of weekly programmes in BBC News and current affairs, left the board of regulator Ofcom over his part in the 1996 BBC investigation – make that whitewash – of the Bashir interview and how he obtained it.
Forget Bashir, who has been outed as a reporter who went far too far to get the interview. Forget Suter. The real culprit is all of this has been the BBC itself. That is why this affair matters for Scotland and for the BBC’s relationship with this country.
Let’s tackle the BBC’s culture as exemplified by Lord Tony Hall who headed up the original investigation into Bashir and his tactics.
READ MORE: Trust in BBC 'has eroded' in wake of Diana interview scandal
Hall issued the most unapologetic apology yesterday. He said: “I have read Lord Dyson’s report, and I accept that our investigation 25 years ago into how Panorama secured the interview with Princess Diana fell well short of what was required. In hindsight, there were further steps we could and should have taken following complaints about Martin Bashir’s conduct. I was wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt, basing that judgment as I did on what appeared to be deep remorse on his part. Throughout my 35-year career at the BBC, I have always acted in ways I believe were fair, impartial and with the public interest front and centre. While Lord Dyson does not criticize my integrity, I am sorry that our investigation failed to meet the standards that were required.”
What utter balderdash. The BBC has been found guilty of the most heinous crime of all – not Bashir’s misbehaviour but covering it up, and as anyone in public relations and journalism can tell you it’s never the original sin but the cover up that gets you in the end.
This is the same Hall who went on to be director general of the BBC for seven years from 2013. He had previously been chief executive of the Royal Opera House and is now the chair of the board of trustees of the English National Gallery. At the very least he should resign all his public positions and step down from the House of Lords. In Scotland we can only reflect that the man who was responsible for the BBC when it was covering the independence referendum and the years subsequent to it has been proven by Lord Dyson to be a corporate creature who would go to considerable lengths to cover up misconduct within the corporation and defend it even when it was abundantly clear that the BBC was deeply at fault.
We in Scotland know just how the BBC has failed us in recent years, and while I am an admirer of many of the journalists who work for BBC Scotland in particular, I am sorry to say that Hall and his cronies have damaged the BBC almost beyond recall.
The truth is that the BBC’s claims to integrity and honesty in its news and other reporting lie in tatters today, and it is going to be a very long time, if ever, before anyone of questioning mind ever trusts the BBC again.
READ MORE: BBC journalist 'used deceitful methods' to land Princess Diana interview
The National has reported time and again on how the BBC protects itself when it comes to genuine complaints about its coverage of Scottish affairs. Now we know that this culture of deflect and deny comes from the top and is endemic throughout the corporation.
If BBC Scotland wants to stop suffering the brickbats that come its way because London and Salford dictate to Glasgow then it is time to set up a genuinely independent Scottish-based panel of experts and members of the public able to investigate any serious complaint about how the BBC does its job in Scotland.
May we suggest they could call it the Reith Panel?
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