THE KEY FINDINGS

Bosses rehired Bashir despite knowing he had faked documents as part of the Diana Panorama episode; They were also aware of his controversies in the US, where he was suspended from one broadcaster and resigned from another, both times after making offensive remarks; Bashir had cosy coffees with BBC bosses two months before the post was even advertised externally; He was the ‘favourite’ candidate, and a rival told Mr MacQuarrie there was ‘a perception that it was a “done deal” from the outset’; There were failures in ‘due diligence’ during Bashir’s interview process; But Lord Hall, the director-general in 2016, was ‘not involved’ in the rehiring decision.