Veteran journalist Martin Bashir is ‘seriously unwell’ with coronavirus-related complications, the BBC has said.
Corporation chiefs confirmed the 57-year-old who works as the news channel’s religion editor is very ill after recently contracting virus.
News of Bashir’s ill health comes ahead of the 25th anniversary of his famous interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, for Panorama in 1995, as well as a Channel 4 documentary about it.
A spokeswoman for the BBC said: ‘We are sorry to say that Martin is seriously unwell with Covid-19 related complications.
Veteran journalist Martin Bashir is ‘seriously unwell’ with coronavirus-related complications, the BBC has said
‘Everyone at the BBC is wishing him a full recovery.
‘We’d ask that his privacy, and that of his family, is respected at this time.’
His colleague Simon McCoy sent a message of support on hearing the news: ‘Wishing you well – and thinking of you.’
Britain today recorded 26,688 more Covid-19 cases and 191 deaths, wit the number of daily infections rising by a third in a week.
News of Bashir’s illness comes amid renewed interest in his career-making 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana
It is not known when Bashir contracted the virus, with the BBC only confirming that he was ‘seriously unwell’ tonight
Bashir began working as a journalist in 1986 but made headlines around the world in 1995 for his BBC interview with Diana, Princess of Wales for Panorama.
The controversial interview has seen renewed interest this month ahead of a new Channel 4 film examines the circumstances behind the meeting, which aired tonight.
Diana: The Truth Behind the Interview, which marks the broadcast’s 25th anniversary, raises questions on the ethics of the tell-all chat.
The documentary alleges the reason the princess decided to take the BBC interview was because her brother, Earl Spencer, was shown forged 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 was from a company with an invented name.
Earl Spencer is said to have been so impressed by Bashir that he duly arranged for him to meet Diana.
The graphic designer who says he mocked up the false documents even explained on the documentary how he did it.
Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton claimed: ‘Speaking to those in Diana’s circle at that time, you could get a sense why those bank statements were a tipping point that made her mind up to sit down and speak about her life.’
The BBC made a statement which acknowledged the document was shown to Earl Spencer, but said it had a letter from Diana confirming this did not mislead her into taking the interview.
But in 2007, it was claimed this letter either did not exist or had been list, which Morton casts doubt upon.
‘If they received a letter basically saying the Princess of Wales, herself, was very happy about the way the programme was made, that would bomb-proof them against any future concerns,’ he said.
A handwritten note from Princess Diana attested to the fact the Princess had not seen the ‘mocked-up’ bank statements and that they played no part in her decision to give the interview.
The documentary alleges the reason she decided to take the BBC interview was because her brother, Earl Spencer, was shown forged bank statements created by someone working for the BBC
It is reported that the late royal ‘did not regret the interview’ about her marriage to Prince Charles because she ‘wanted the world to see who she really was’
The broadcast attracted 23million viewers and launched Bashir’s career in journalism.
Bashir’s other high-profile interviews have included the suspects in the Stephen Lawrence murder case, entertainer Michael Barrymore, Jeffrey Archer and Major Charles Ingram, dubbed ‘the coughing major’.
In 2003, he conducted a series of interviews with pop singer Michael Jackson for the controversial ITV documentary Living With Michael Jackson.
He later moved to the US where he co-anchored the current affairs show Nightline on ABC before moving to MSNBC. He resigned from the corporation in 2013 with an apology for calling former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin a ‘world-class idiot’.
He subsequently returned to the BBC as the broadcaster’s religion editor.
It is not known when Bashir contracted the virus but he had been quiet on social media in recent weeks, with the BBC only confirming that he was ‘seriously unwell’ tonight.
Worrying data from the Department of Health shows that a second wave in Britain is continuing to grow, with 21,331 more positive tests announced yesterday, taking the daily average to 18,235.
Professor John Edmunds (left) told MPs on the Science and Technology Committee today that he would not use the three-tier local lockdown system being used by Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right)
The deaths of another 241 people were confirmed, a rise of more than two thirds (68.5 per cent) from the same day last week.
The Office for National Statistics estimates that around 27,900 people are catching the virus every day in England, its highest prediction since they began in May.
All indicators – across positive cases, deaths and hospital admissions, are they highest they have been for at least four months.
Professor John Edmunds, an epidemiologist based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and member of Number 10’s scientific advisory panel, said that he fears the three-tier lockdown system – introduced this month by Boris Johnson instead of leaning towards national measures – will not squash the UK’s second surge.
‘I think we are not being as cautious as I would like us to be,’ he said.
‘I think it’s pretty clear cases have been going up quite fast. What worries me a little bit is where the strategy leads to at the moment.
‘So the targeted strategy, the tiered strategy, if you think it through – where that leads to is a high level of incidence everywhere.
‘Because let’s say that tier three works, and keeps the reproduction number at about one – I don’t think anybody really thinks it’s going to reduce it to less than one, so let’s assume it manages to get the reproduction number to about one.
‘I don’t give a sod’: Barnsley pensioner, 83, slams new Tier-3 lockdown for South Yorkshire saying ‘I’ve not got many years left – I’m not going to be fastened in a house’
An 83-year-old woman from Barnsley has said she doesn’t ‘give a sod’ about staying at home after it was announced Tier 3 restrictions would come into force this weekend.
From midnight Saturday the South Yorkshire areas of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield will move under Tier 3, joining Manchester, Lancashire and Liverpool.
This means a ban on household mixing indoors, travel to areas outside Tier 3, and the closure of pubs and bars, as well as South Yorkshire’s additional Tier 3 rules which include the closure of betting shops, casinos, soft play centres, and gym classes – but gyms will stay open.
Speaking to BBC News this afternoon the 83-year-old Barnsley resident said that at her age she doesn’t ‘give a sod’ and that she would not be ‘fastened in a house’ for her remaining years by the ‘ridiculous’ restrictions.
The outspoken shopper told the broadcaster: ‘I think it’s all ridiculous, we should never have been in lockdown. All the people who were vulnerable should have been helped and kept home safe.
‘And all the rest of us, i’m 83, I don’t give a sod.
‘I look at it this way, i’ve not got all that many years left of me and i’m not going to be fastened in a house when the government have got it all wrong.
‘We need…how can we get the country on its feet? Money-wise? Where’s all the money?
‘By the end of this year there’s going to be millions of people unemployed and you know who’s going to pay for it? All the young ones. Not me because i’m going to be dead.’
The unknown shopper from Barnsley said she didn’t ‘give a sod’ and thought that the lockdown should never have happened
Could Tees Valley and Tyneside AVOID Tier Three? Ministers pause talks over cash aid as anti-Covid measures show signs of working
Two major areas of North East England could avoid being placed into the highest lockdown tier, it emerged today, because efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus appear to be working.
Talks with Tees Valley and Tyneside over a financial package for a Tier Three shutdown have been halted, it is understood, amid hopes it will not be required.
It came as Boris Johnson moved to sideline Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham today, insisting he would honour the £60million package of business support for the region he offered to the Labour mayor but go through borough leaders instead.
The premier also jibed that he had a ‘great conversation’ with Sheffield City mayor Dan Jarvis, who today agreed a deal for the region to be escalated to Tier Three from Saturday.
A furious blame game erupted between Boris Johnson (right at PMQs) and Andy Burnham (left) after talks over a Tier Three lockdown bailout failed
South Yorkshire has secured a £41million deal for contact tracing, enforcement and business support, and Mr Jarvis swiped at Mr Burnham by saying he had acted ‘responsibly’ in reaching an agreement.
Alongside a ban on households mixing indoors, pubs and bars will have to shut from midnight on Saturday, as well as betting shops, casinos and soft plays.
However, gyms and leisure centres can stay open – with Liverpool also getting their rules eased after a protest at double standards between regions.
And West Yorkshire leaders say they have been told it will not be escalated into Tier Three this week – although government sources insist discussions are still ongoing.
The Tees Valley and Tyneside are both currently in Tier Two. There were 314.1 cases per 100,000 people in Tees Valley for the week to October 16, up from 278.4 the previous week. But there were 276.1 cases per 100,000 people in the North East for the week to October 16, down from 316.6 the previous week.
The latest dramatic moves today mean 7.3million people will be under the top level of restrictions by the weekend.
The sum granted to South Yorks is in roughly in line with that handed to Merseyside and Lancashire, adjusting for population size.
But talks with Mr Burnham broke down yesterday after he demanded £65million for Greater Manchester, which would have been proportionally far more than accepted by other areas. He originally asked for £90million.
Mr Johnson offered £60million, with government sources claiming the mayor’s ‘pride’ stopped him saying yes.
In an apparent swipe at his Labour colleague today, Mr Jarvis said: ‘We all recognise the gravity of the situation and have taken the responsible route to ensure we save lives and livelihoods, and protect our NHS.’
In a round of interviews this morning, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick dismissed the idea that Mr Burnham learned news of the package during an explosive press conference last night. ‘He didn’t,’ he said, adding: ‘I phoned him and told him.’
Mr Jenrick also complained that the haggling with Mr Burnham had held up crucial action to protect the public. ‘We probably in honesty should have acted a few days ago but we hadn’t been able to reach an agreement with the mayor of Greater Manchester,’ he said.
In an apparent swipe at his Labour colleague Andy Burnham today, Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis (right) said doing a deal with the government was the ‘responsible’ course of action. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick (left) complained that the haggling with Mr Burnham had held up crucial action to protect the public
After more than a week of wrangling, Mr Johnson last night unilaterally shifted Greater Manchester to the highest level of curbs, saying Mr Burnham had rejected an offer of £60million business support, on top of £22million for contact tracing and enforcement.
Whitehall sources said an agreement of £55million was initially reached, but during a final telephone to rubber-stamp the arrangement Mr Burnham blindsided the Prime Minister with a demand for £65million.
The PM tried to compromise on £60million but a government source said: ‘Andy Burnham’s pride got in the way of a deal.’
Another source claimed the mayor had told the PM it was ‘important to him that he got more than Lancashire and Merseyside’, the other two areas already under Tier Three.
Last night six Conservative MPs in the region wrote to Mr Burnham asking to stand aside so other local leaders to broker a new deal with the government.
Chris Clarkson, Mark Logan, Christian Wakeford, James Grundy, Jame Daly and Mary Robinson all put their name to the note telling Mr Burnham he had ‘completely failed’.
In a combative PMQs this afternoon, Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Johnson of a ‘corrosive and miserly’ approach sparking ‘local battles’.
He told the Commons: ‘This is a Prime Minister who can pay £7,000 a day for consultants on track and trace, which isn’t working, can find £43 million for a garden bridge that was never built but he can’t find £5 million for the people of Greater Manchester…
‘On Friday, thousands of people in Greater Manchester – taxi drivers, pub and hospitality workers, people working in betting shops, the self-employed and freelancers will either be out of work or face significant pay cuts, that’s the reality on Friday in Greater Manchester.
‘But their rent and their mortgage won’t be lower, their food and their heating bills won’t be lower, and that could last for months. Why can’t the Prime Minister and the Chancellor understand this? Stop bargaining with people’s lives, stop dividing communities and provide the support that’s needed in Manchester.’
Mr Johnson said he was ‘very proud that this Government has already given Greater Manchester £1.1billion in support for business, £200million in extra un-ringfenced funding, £50million to tackle infections in care homes, £20million for test and trace, another £22million for local response that we announced yesterday’.
‘Yesterday the Mayor of Greater Manchester was offered a further £60 million which he turned down,’ the PM said.
‘So I can tell the House today that that cash will be distributed to the boroughs of Greater Manchester.’
Mr Jenrick has written to council leaders in Greater Manchester asking them ‘to come forward directly’ for money.