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The late princess’ brother, Charles Spencer, has alleged that the ‘Panorama’ flagship reporter who conducted the interview, Martin Bashir, showed him false documents to persuade his sister to participate.
FILE: Diana, Princess of Wales, in central London on April 21, 1997. Image: AFP.
LONDON – The BBC announced on Wednesday the immediate launch of an investigation into how it obtained an explosive 1995 interview with Princess Diana that exposed her troubled marriage to Prince Charles.
The corporation said it had approved the appointment of former Supreme Court Justice John Dyson to lead the investigation, which comes after calls from the late princess’s brother, Charles Spencer.
Spencer has alleged that the flagship Panorama The program reporter who conducted the interview, Martin Bashir, showed her false documents to persuade her sister to participate.
In the November 1995 interview, which was viewed by a record 22.8 million people, Diana detailed the collapse of her marriage to the heir to the throne.
She said there were “three people” in her marriage: her, Charles and her longtime lover, Camilla Parker-Bowles, and also revealed that he had been unfaithful to her.
Diana and Charles formally divorced in 1996. She died in a car accident in Paris the following year.
New reports have emerged alleging that Bashir used clandestine methods to persuade Diana to speak up, even claiming that her own staff members were being paid to spy on her.
“This is an important investigation that I will begin immediately,” Dyson said in a statement. “I will make sure it is thorough and fair.”
The BBC established the terms of reference for the investigation, focusing primarily on the role of Bashir, who was little known at the time but went on to have a global career.
Consideration will be given to “simulated bank statements purporting to show payments to a former Earl Spencer employee … (and) alleged payments to members of the Royal House.”
It will also look at revelations made by Spencer this month about Bashir to the Daily Mail, which said the reporter made “creepy claims” about Queen Elizabeth II, Charles and other royals.
Bashir has not responded to the latest claims. The BBC has said that he was in very bad shape after contracting the coronavirus.
The BBC has been accused of a cover-up in an earlier investigation when rumors about Bashir’s alleged methods first surfaced.
The publicly funded broadcaster said its latest investigation will be released once it is completed.
“The BBC is determined to get to the truth about these events and that is why we have commissioned an independent investigation,” said CEO Tim Davie.
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