A BBC journalist cheated to conduct a sensational interview with British Princess Diana in 1995, in which she revealed intimate details of her marriage to Prince Charles, the investigation showed. Diana’s sons commented on them.
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An independent investigation found that the BBC had failed to meet journalistic standards when it interviewed Princess Diana in 1995. An investigation by retired judge Lord John Dyson revealed that interviewer Martin Bashir had acted dishonestly, including forged documents in order to obtain an interview. Moreover, an internal investigation by the BBC in 1996, according to Lord Dyson, was “woefully ineffective.”
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The investigation began last November, after Diana’s brother Charles Spencer claimed he had been tricked into introducing the Duchess to journalist Martin Bashir. The Dyson report found that Bashir, then a little-known journalist, showed Spencer fake bank statements suggesting that Diana was being tapped by security services and that two people around her were getting paid for the information.
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Princess DianaBettmann/GettyImages
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“Bashir cheated and persuaded him to arrange a meeting with Princess Diana,” the report reads. Spencer also claimed that Bashir made up stories about the royal family to strengthen Diana’s belief in an alleged plot against her.
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During an interview on the “Panorama” program, which was watched by over 20 million viewers in the UK, Princess Diana shared the details of her marriage to the heir to the throne, Prince Charles. Among other things, she said that “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” referring to Prince Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, his current wife.
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According to the report, after the interview was broadcast, Bashir repeatedly lied to his superiors about how to obtain it. The report criticized the BBC for failing in its own investigation of the case two decades ago, the broadcaster lacked “the high standards of honesty and transparency that are its hallmark.” BBC managers did not properly analyze Bashir’s version of events and concealed the facts about how the journalist managed to conduct the interview.
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The interview put Bashir into the spotlight, which ensured conversations with other celebrities, including the late American singer Michael Jackson.
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Bashir, who was the editor of religious material for BBC News, left the corporation last week for health reasons. He was seriously ill with complications from COVID-19. In a statement, he said that he deeply regrets the forgery of bank statements, but stated that he did not believe that Princess Diana had chosen the interview because of the evidence he presented.
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Dyson’s report included a handwritten note from Diana, drawn up a month after the interview in which the Duchess stated that she had no regrets and that Bashir had given her no information that she had not known about before. “Thanks to the fraudulent conduct (…) Bashir managed to arrange the meeting that led to the interview,” reads the report. “It should be added, however, that Princess Diana would probably have agreed to an interview,” it said.
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The BBC assessed that clear mistakes had been made. It added that it would return the awards the program had won. “The BBC cannot turn back a quarter of a century, but we can offer a full and unconditional apology,” said BBC CEO Tim Davie.
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The princes’ reaction
In response to the report, Prince William stated that his mother had been deceived “not only by a dishonest reporter” but also by BBC executives.
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According to Prince William, the interview was “a major factor in the deterioration of parents’ relationships.” Since then, the interview has “hurt countless other people”, he added. “But what saddens me most is that if the BBC had properly investigated the complaints and concerns in 1995, my mother would have known that she had been cheated,” he stressed. “She was deceived not only by a dishonest reporter, but also by BBC executives who turned instead of asking difficult questions,” said the prince. In his opinion, the manner in which the interview was obtained significantly influenced what his mother said.
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The second brother, Harry, joined the criticism of the BBC. In a separate statement, the Duke of Sussex stated that his mother eventually lost her life as a result of a “culture of exploitation and unethical practices”. He also expressed concern that such practices “are still widespread”.
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The BBC wrote an apology to Prince William, Harry, as well as Prince of Wales Charles and brother Diana.
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photo-source">Main photo source: Bettmann/GettyImages
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