Controversial journalist Martin Bashir to return to BBC as religious affairs correspondent
Documentary-maker first joined the broadcaster in 1987 and gained notoriety through high-profile interviews with Michael Jackson and Princess Diana
THE BBC has made controversial documentary-maker Martin Bashir its new religious affairs correspondent.
Martin, 53, caused uproar with his high-profile interviews with Princess Diana and Michael Jackson in 1995 and 2003 respectively.
His interview with the late Princess of Wales was deemed too personal, and his documentary with Jacko helped lead to his high-profile trial for sex abuse.
The British-born journalist was also forced to resign from the US news network MSNBC in 2013, after causing uproar by inviting former US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to eat faeces.
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And in 2008 he was suspended from his role as a reporter for ABC’s Nightline programme after he made “crude and sexist” comments in a speech to the Asian American Journalists Convention in Chicago, referring to the participants as “Asian babes”.
In his new role as religious affairs correspondent, he will report on events and provide analysis and insight on the major themes and issues affecting different faiths in the UK and around the world.
Martin, who first joined the Beeb in 1987, said yesterday: “I am delighted to be re-joining the BBC at this time and in this subject area. The opportunity to cover the broad spectrum of religious affairs is challenging and compelling and I cannot wait to get started.”