ABC removes more episodes by sacked reporter Mahmood Fazal

The ABC has withdrawn a further two episodes by sacked Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal and edited another due to concerns about anonymous interviewees. 

Fazal's employment was terminated in May after an ABC investigation into his appearance on a podcast with a former underworld figure last year, ABC managing director Hugh Marks confirmed at a Senate estimates hearing in May.

Since then, two episodes he reported for Four Corners, titled Cocaine Nation and Meth Highway, have been removed by the ABC due to accuracy concerns. A Background Briefing audio program he reported, titled Remy was 12 when she became a drug dealer, was also removed later in July.

In a statement, the ABC said it completed a review of anonymous interviewees in all stories reported by Fazal for the two programs, which identified concerns with three more programs. 

"The review found that in each of these cases ABC verification policies concerning the use of anonymous interviewees were not followed to a level that meets our editorial standards," the statement said. 

"Therefore, in order to ensure complete confidence in published content, we have taken the decision to remove them."

Two stories  — Four Corners episode Silent Orders and Background Briefing episode Meet the teens at the frontline of organised crime — have been removed from ABC platforms.   

A short segment contributed by Fazal in the Four Corners episode The Postcode Wars, in which he says he visits a drug “trap house”, has been edited out.     

"Outside of this segment the episode meets our editorial standards and will remain available online with an editor’s note," the statement said.

"The ABC is committed to journalism of the highest standard.  Maintaining the trust of Australians depends on upholding those standards and we take any concerns about our journalism seriously."

From Mongols bikie to award-winning reporter

Fazal, a former member of the Mongols bikie club, is an award-winning journalist specialising in reporting on crime, violence, imprisonment and terrorism, whose reporting has appeared in VICE, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Monthly and The Saturday Paper.

After the Four Corners episodes were removed, Fazal said in a statement posted to social media that he was "shocked" by the decision.

"I believe the process ABC is following and its decisions so far set a worrying precedent for the organisation's independent [sic] and commitment to public-interest journalism," he said.

Fazal claimed in another video statement he was hired by the ABC for his access to certain sources, with that proximity later used against him.

He said his reporting was heavily scrutinised during editorial standards and production meetings.

Earlier this month, the ABC announced its head of investigations and current affairs, Jo Puccini, was leaving the public broadcaster after a 25-year career. 

She had oversight of Four Corners and Background Briefing. 

Other senior managers at the ABC at the time of Fazal's reporting have already left the broadcaster for unrelated reasons.