Disgraced Diana interviewer Martin Bashir raised eyebrows when it emerged he was still pocketing £2,000 a week from the BBC despite being suspended from the corporation.
I can now disclose he also paid himself and his wife hefty bonuses of more than £50,000 even as details of his underhand techniques were exposed.
Newly published accounts for his company, Panoramic Productions Limited — which he set up the year of the 'bombshell' Panorama interview with Princess Diana in 1995 — reveal he set aside £34,000 last year and £20,000 this year in bonuses.
Disgraced Diana interviewer Martin Bashir (pictured in 1995) raised eyebrows when it emerged he was still pocketing £2,000 a week from the BBC despite being suspended
The money is in addition to his £100,000 BBC salary which he was still being paid while suspended and an investigation was carried out into how he obtained the interview with Diana.
Watched by 23 million, Diana told Bashir 'there were three people in the marriage' — referring to Prince Charles's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
Panoramic Productions channelled money from other TV work and speaking engagements and Bashir, 58, who is a director and shareholder with his nursing sister wife Deborah, 62, signed off the documents in May.
But they have only now been published and cover the year ending January 2021.
It is also apparent that Bashir — once a popular figure on the lucrative speaking circuit who could command around £15,000 a time — has seen his work dry up significantly as earnings have plummeted.
Last year he had £209,994 in assets and paid more than £51,000 in tax, but now the firm has only £112,727 in assets — and he paid just £1,680 in income tax and social security payments.
Bashir (pictured in November 2019) also paid himself and his wife hefty bonuses of more than £50,000 even as details of his underhand techniques were exposed
Diana told Bashir in the famous 1995 interview 'there were three people in the marriage' - referring to Prince Charles's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles (both pictured)
The controversial journalist, who lives in a £1.7million, six-bedroom home in Hampshire, quit his job as BBC Religion editor shortly before the findings of an inquiry into his Diana interview methods were made public.
Lord Dyson led the inquiry which found Bashir breached BBC rules by having false bank statements made to suggest those close to Diana were selling information.
He showed them to Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, as part of a bid to win her confidence for the interview which rocked the Royal Family.
AIKENS GOES FROM THRILLS TO FILLS
Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens was accused of having 'the most pretentious restaurant in Britain' when he opened Muse in London in 2019.
The criticism — from the Mail's Jan Moir — appears to have inspired an overhaul ahead of its summer re-opening.
Aikens, 51, was mocked for his storybook-style menu which featured anecdotes about his childhood, and dishes including half a langoustine on a stick.
Now I hear he's introducing classic comfort food at the Belgravia restaurant including fried chicken and a Solero-style ice lolly.
Eton Mess is also on the menu, with Aikens declaring: 'Gone are the days of leaving a fine dining restaurant feeling hungry.'
THAT'S J.LO CUT! JADE CHANNELS HER INNER LOPEZ
Fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper, whose
