BBC interview with Princess Diana: report criticizes “fraudulent methods”
With a slightly bowed head, an innocent look and darkly made-up eyes, Princess Diana plunged the British royal family into crisis 26 years ago. “Well, there were three of us in this marriage – so it was a bit crowded.” It was this sentence, alluding to Prince Charles’ long-time lover, Camilla Parker Bowles, that the common sofa royal remembers to this day.
Diana’s legendary BBC interview with journalist Martin Bashir sparked one of the biggest scandals in the kingdom, which is not inexperienced in scandals. After Diana had poured out her heart to the world, complained about the marital problems between her and Charles and talked about his unsuitability as heir to the throne, divorce and the final break between Diana and the royal family ensued.
But how did Martin Bashir, a relatively unknown reporter at the time, land the scoop of his life? An internal investigation report has now come to the conclusion that the now 58-year-old – no longer working for the BBC for health reasons – used “fraudulent methods” and “violated” guidelines. According to a report, led by former judge Lord John Dyson, Bashir deceived the princess and her brother Earl Spencer with forged documents. At the time, he explained to James Spencer that the princess was being spied on by the secret service and that friends and employees of the royals would forward information to the media for money.
James Spencer recorded this as early as 2020 when he initiated the examination. As evidence, Bashir showed the Earl bank statements that were supposed to reveal the alleged transfer of bribes. Both the brother and Diana believed the reporter. The only difference is that the documents were not genuine, they were forged on the instructions of Bashir, as the 127-page report confirms.
Spencer had given Lord Dyson handwritten notes he had made during a preliminary meeting between Diana and the journalist. Bashir again apologized yesterday in a statement for the falsification of the documents. He regrets that very much.
It is a “day of shame” for the “BBC”, wrote the tabloid “Daily Mail”. The report also criticizes senior executives at the public broadcaster for trying to cover up the fraud. The then BBC news manager Tony Hall, who was BBC general director until the summer, had defended Bashir when the first reports of forged papers became public. His successor, BBC boss Tim Davie, admitted yesterday that Lord Dyson had identified “clear shortcomings”. Although the report emphasizes that Diana was very interested in the idea of an interview with the broadcaster, “the process of securing this was nowhere near what the audience had expected.” He apologized on behalf of the agency.
The BBC announced in November that there was a relieving handwritten note from the princess, who died in a car accident in 1997, according to which she had not given the interview based on the documents. Even so, the damage done to the BBC by the report is immense.
