I’ve listened with interest to the fall-out from the revelation that Martin Bashir used forged bank statements to entice Princess Diana to give him an interview. It’s certainly a low point in BBC journalism. We are told that there must be a review of BBC governance, to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. Quite apart from the fact that this all happened over 25 years ago, and the BBC governance regime has changed twice since then, I find myself asking if it’s really a governance issue at all.
I remember the interview; in fact I watched it at the time. I hadn’t a clue about Bashir’s deception, but even then, I thought it was an interview that should never have happened. Bashir had exploited a clearly troubled woman for his own personal gain. Anyone could see that the interview could never be in Diana’s best interests. That seemed wrong.
Now we also know that Bashir was guilty of deception, that some of his superiors at the BBC knew he was, but not only did they do nothing, they told whistle-blowers to shut up, and penalised them professionally. We know that Lord Hall organised an enquiry that was at best inadequate, and worst a whitewash.
We know that the Deceiver in Chief was re-employed in 2016 as, of all things, the BBC’s Religious Affairs Correspondent, and this year he was allowed to slip away under the cover of ill health before the ordure connected with the extractor.
This, it strikes me, is nothing to do with governance. It is nothing at all to do with structures. It is everything to do with values. It’s about honesty, integrity.
Bashir, in 1995, landed the big scoop for the BBC. That’s all that mattered. Incidentally, in 2003 he did the same for ITV, with Michael Jackson, and there are suggestions that Jackson, too, was duped into agreeing.
It’s much easier to deal with governance than values. You can always change the structures, but new bums on different seats, and claim you’ve done the job. Changing a culture, changing how people think, that’s trickier.
However, in every organisation, the value system you adopt is what makes the difference. Usually that comes from the top. Years ago I was Direct Marketing Manager at Age Concern England, where the Chief Executive was Sally Greengross, now Lady Greengross. Sally knew exactly what was going on throughout the organisation, and was a firm manager. However, she was approachable, principled, straightforward, and kind; I was three layers of management below her, but she’d stop her car at the bus stop on cold Battersea mornings and offer me a lift into the office.
“Sally sounds like Margaret Thatcher,” I used to say, “but with her it’s for real.”
Niceness oozed like honey from her office throughout the organisation. It was the best working environment I’ve experienced.
So, if you are a leader, whatever size your organisation, what are your values? What trickles through the organisation from your desk?
