Jane Corbin

Internationally respected for many years as the face of the BBC around the globe, Jane has covered the world’s major conflicts for more than two decades. As senior correspondent for Panorama, the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme, she has  investigated the key security and human rights issues of our times and won many awards and accolades for her work. Her CV includes the following:

• An accomplished international media commentator on the Middle East and terrorism. Author of well-regarded books and many authoritative articles
• Contributes regularly in high level policy arenas - Parliamentary committees, think-tanks and at government level as well as chairing conferences and public speaking
• Motivates and manages teams in many countries and complex logistical situations
• Jane has a wide range of contacts all over the world
• She has consistently delivered in the most difficult and dangerous of circumstances while upholding the highest journalistic and ethical standards   
• Reporter and writer of more than 120 documentaries for Panorama and the BBC specialising in the Middle East and Central Asia
• Author of ‘The Base: al-Qaeda and the changing face of global terror’ and ‘Gaza First’ – an insider account of the Oslo process. Expert witness on Iraq, Afghanistan and terrorism before UK Parliamentary Committees and advisor to the All Party Parliamentary Group on conflict resolution
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
• Four times winner of the Royal Television Society Award and Emmy nominee
• 1988-2011: Senior foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Panorama
• Jane specialises in foreign affairs, diplomacy and international investigations and is  known particularly for her work on intelligence, defence, and non proliferation issues

In 2011 Jane has reported extensively on the ‘Arab Spring’ most recently investigating President al Assad’s bloody repression inside Syria. She lived through the events in Tahrir Square as the people’s revolution toppled President Mubarak and inspired uprisings across the Middle East.  She has also covered the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan this year – the end of a fourteen year investigation of al-Qaeda and its leader.

Jane has also reported in 2009 and 2011 on Iran’s disputed election, the Green Movement and human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic. In 2009 and 2010 Jane investigated the issue of settlement building in East Jerusalem and the alleged assassination of a Hamas arms dealer by the Mossad in Dubai. She also had unprecedented access to Israeli Special Forces for her film about what really happened on the Mavi Marmara ship when nine Turks were killed by the Israelis. 

In 2007, in a worldwide scoop, Jane presented proof of the billion dollar kickbacks paid to Prince Bandar bin Sultan under the British/Saudi Al Yamamah arms deal.

Jane has made seven one hour documentaries in Iraq from 2003 to 2008 including:

- Searching for Saddam’s Weapons: Jane gained exclusive access to UN inspectors and the secret US unit which searched in vain for WMD’s before and after the war
- Saddam on the Run: the inside story of how Saddam Hussein and his sons were tracked and cornered by US military intelligence
- Shamed investigated the scandal of Abu Ghraib revealing how US detainee policy   developed during the ‘war on terror’ from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan and Iraq
- Hostage explored the impact of this terror tactic with exclusive access to the family of Ken Bigley and Nicholas Berg and powerful testimony from hostage survivors
- The Battle for Basra:  Jane entered Basra with the British army in 2003 returning three times to chart the rise of the militias and the secret deal with the British which enabled UK forces to leave Basra.  
- Daylight Robbery: In 2008 Jane revealed how $23 billion had been wasted, stolen and embezzled in Iraq by some of America’s biggest corporations. This programme caused a storm in the US Congress and media and was voted one of the top documentaries of the year by the BBC World audience.  

- Britain’s Terror Heartland, December 2008: Jane has most recently reported from the tribal territories of Pakistan and Afghanistan on the threat posed by al-Qaeda and the Taliban gaining extraordinary access to young would-be suicide bombers
- Death to America: This 1998 film first brought Bin Laden to the public’s attention revealing his jihadi philosophy and activities in the Sudan and Afghanistan
- The Zero Hour: A global co-production for BBC1 which revealed how the four hijackers of 9.11 were radicalised in Germany and planned the al Qaeda attacks
- The Hunt for Bin Laden: Jane travelled to Tora Bora in Afghanistan to discover how  Bin Laden escaped in the treacherous border area with Pakistan insisting he was still alive when many influential figures claimed he was dead. 

Author of ‘The Base: al-Qaeda and the changing face of global terror’ now in its fourth edition (US and UK) which charts the growth and philosophy of Bin Laden’s organisation and suggests ways to counter the growth of Islamic militancy.
‘Especially impressive is the extensive detail…..the book brings together all the complicated and frightening strands of the al-Qaeda story…’ Washington Post

‘Gaza First’ (US edition’ The Norway Channel’) Jane’s book published in 1993 explored how the Norwegians facilitated the Oslo Accords which brought the PLO back to Palestinian territory.
‘In this brilliant account of the negotiations that led to the Oslo agreement Jane Corbin sets a new standard for journalistic excellence…..she has mastered the nuances of the bargaining process and conveys a deep understanding of the psychology of each of the participants…’ review