THE BBC director-general will be questioned by MPs over what was done about Martin Bashir losing clothes belonging to schoolgirl killed in the Babes in the Wood murders.

It comes after a Mail on Sunday investigation suggested the BBC failed to conduct a proper search for the clothes belonging to Karen Hadaway, which were taken by the journalist and never returned.

Mum Michelle Hadaway says Mr Bashir obtained the items for DNA testing for BBC Two’s Public Eye programme 30 years ago, but the investigation did not air and her calls to the broadcaster were ignored.

Tomorrow, BBC boss Tim Davie will face questions about the lost clothing in front of a commons select committee.

Ms Hadaway’s daughter Karen and her friend Nicola Fellows were found sexually assaulted and strangled in a woodland den in Brighton in October 1986 in what became known as the Babes in the Wood murders.

The Argus: Murdered Brighton schoolgirls Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows (right)Murdered Brighton schoolgirls Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows (right)

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.

The Mail on Sunday claim that that in 2004, the BBC investigations unit failed to make contact with key individuals who might have known where the lost clothing was.

This includes families of the victims, journalists who worked on the Babes In The Wood documentary and Mr Bashir himself.

READ MORE: Martin Bashir 'may have lost' clothing of Babes in the Wood victim

The BBC have dismissed the Mail on Sunday claims as “incorrect”, but said it was conducting a review of the case in a fresh bid to try to locate the clothing.

The broadcaster said it was “extremely sorry” for the incident and will be looking into any new details on the there whereabouts

A spokesman for the BBC said: “We are 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.

"We are continuing to look into this matter following the Dyson inquiry, and as part of that, we asked a former senior BBC executive to review what happened in this case, including the 2004 investigation, and see if anything was missed which could help us locate the clothing."

The BBC spokesman added: “It is incorrect to suggest that in 2004 the BBC investigations unit did not make contact with individuals who might have known where the clothing was.

“Records show that (Public Eye editor) Nigel Chapman and an individual who can be identified as (assistant producer) Charlie Beckett were contacted during the 2004 investigation.

“Martin Bashir was contacted via his agent, who told us that Martin was unable to assist with the whereabouts of the clothes. Eileen Fairweather had left the employment of Public Eye before the clothing went missing.”