BBC accused of rehiring Martin Bashir without interview to ‘keep his mouth shut’ BBC has refuted the claims, made by Julian Knight in the Commons, over reporter who faked bank statements to gain Princess Diana interview 24 May 2021 • 8:06pm Martin Bashir was employed as the BBC's religious affairs correspondent 20 years after his interview with Princess Diana Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBCUniversal/Getty Images The BBC is facing questions over whether Martin Bashir was rehired "to keep his mouth shut". The chair of an influential select committee said on Monday that his sources had told him Bashir was not even interviewed when he rejoined the BBC in 2016 - raising concern about why he was ushered back into the corporation.