Martin Bashir lost bloodied clothes of murdered schoolgirl, 9, and BBC ‘failed to properly search for them’

MARTIN Bashir lost the bloodied clothes of a murdered girl and the BBC failed to properly search for them, a bombshell new report claims.

Michelle Hadaway said Bashir took her daughter Karen’s clothes for DNA testing for a programme 30 years ago – but never returned them.

Controversial BBC reporter Martin Bashir allegedly lost a murdered girl’s bloodied clothing

PA:Press AssociationA blue Pinto sweatshirt, worn by Russell Bishop[/caption]

Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows were killed in Brighton in 1986

The clothes were allegedly “lost” by the reporter meaning cops could not use them when trying to bring prime suspect Russell Bishop to trial in 2004 for the so-called Babes in The Wood killings in which Karen and friend Nicola Fellows, also 9, were murdered.

At the time, a BBC spokesman said that “extensive inquiries” had been made to find them.

But now, it’s been revealed that the investigation was substandard, reports The Mail on Sunday – claims the Beeb have strongly denied.

According to the paper, Bashir and other journalists working on the documentary were never spoken to directly over the course of their inquiry.

Nor was the forensic scientist who was supposed to analyse the items.

A BBC spokesperson’s tonight refuted the claims – but when asked about the investigation Bashir said: “I do not recall being contacted by anyone.”

The Mail also claim 50-pages of documents detailing what BBC bosses knew about Bashir’s investigation has now been sent to director-general Tim Davies.

Karen, and Nicola, both 9, vanished on October 9, 1986.

Their bodies were discovered the next day in a woodland den, in Wild Park, Brighton, with Karen lying across Nicola with her head in her friend’s lap and their hands close together.

The two girls had been sexually assaulted and strangled in a crime which shocked Britain.

The families of the two girls spent decades fighting for justice after their killer, Russell Bishop, was initially found not guilty of their murders in 1987.

‘DESPICABLE RAT’

Karen’s mother Michelle previously told The Sun: “Martin Bashir is a despicable rat. I believe the loss of Karen’s clothes could have ­seriously affected the hunt for my child’s killer.

“And now he is being accused of lying to Princess Diana and her family to persuade her to do an interview for the BBC. 

“He should be investigated . . .  over what happened to Karen’s clothing.”

Michelle says Bashir persuaded her to hand over Karen’s clothes to him in 1991 for a BBC investigation.

But she added: “I was a grieving mum whose daughter had been murdered. 

“He took advantage of that and has never shown any remorse for the loss.

“Bashir is a rogue journalist and it is unbelievable that he is still employed by the BBC.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC is extremely sorry for the distress this has caused Ms Hadaway and we deeply regret we have not been able to give her any answers about what happened. 

“We are appalled that this clothing was lost after being obtained as part of an investigation for a BBC programme.

They added: “Martin Bashir was contacted via his agent who told us that Martin was unable to assist with the whereabouts of the clothes.”