Where is Tony Hall now? BBC ex-boss fears he'd 'lose job' as National Gallery head over Princess Diana inquiry
"It's a dark day for BBC", said the organization's director-general Tim Davie, as the network apologized in the wake of the Dyson Inquiry that concluded that "rogue reporter" Martin Bashir did in fact fabricate false documents to bag the sensational Princess Diana interview from November 1995. The explosive tell-all had famously heard Diana say "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." The interview is claimed to what landed the fatal blow on Diana's marriage to Prince Charles and ultimately led to the stripping of her HRH title, two years before her tragic death in a car crash.
Hall's 1996 probe into claims Diana was manipulated by Bashir was 'woefully ineffective', as the investigation "did not scrutinise" Bashir, knowing he had lied about documents.
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Where is Tony Hall now?
After his almost-three-decade career with BBC that began in 1973, Tony Hall left the organization to become chief executive at London’s Royal Opera House in 2001. Hall returned to BBC again in 2013 as its director-general and chaired the role until 2020. He has since been the chairman of The National Gallery at London, for almost a year now. Just a month ago, he had revealed major plans to turn the gallery into a "global digital institution" appealing to the younger masses. He has issued an apology, admitting that he was "wrong to trust" Bashir at the time of the interview, and has said he "accepts" Lord Dyson's report. However, it has also been claimed that Hall had been worried about his future, specifically losing his job as the chairman of the gallery once the findings of the report that blame him for a 'cover-up' were published on Thursday, Mar 20, reported the Daily Mail.
Hall has since publicly admitted the investigation into Bashir's false documents "fell well short of what was required" and he was "wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt." 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 center. While Lord Dyson does not criticize my integrity, I am sorry that our investigation failed to meet the standards that were required."
Tony Hall was a 'key figure' in 'cover up'
The 60-page document reporting Lord Dyson's findings identified the 70-year-old Lord Hall of Birkenhead 'key figure' in helping protect the BBC journalist after the interview went viral in 1995. Lord Dyson alleged in his probe: "Without knowing Earl Spencer's version of the facts; without receiving from Mr Bashir a credible explanation of what he had done and why he had done it; and in the light of his serious and unexplained lies, Lord Hall could not reasonably have concluded, as he did, that Mr Bashir was an honest and honorable man."
Following allegations of Bashir fabricating bank statements to stir paranoia and bag the interview, the internal investigation led by Hall had found Bashir an 'honest man' and there was "no question of Mr Bashir trying to mislead or do anything improper." The BBC spent 25 years since then trying to defend these conclusions, but Lord Dyson's report also claims Hall told then graphic designer Matthew Weissler, who helped Bashir fabricate the mocked-up bank statements, that he "will not work for the BBC again."
In the apology after the Dyson Inquiry, Hall says "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 center. While Lord Dyson does not criticize my integrity, I am sorry that our investigation failed to meet the standards that were required." But the report from Lord Dyson busts a note Hall had sent to Bashir just one day after the 1995 interview aired, touting how he behaved "absolutely the appropriate fashion" and "changed the way we report on the Monarchy". Hall wrote to Bashir he should be "proud" and back-slapped his "skill, sensitivity and excellent judgement" shown in the interview.