Princess Diana: Key findings of report into how Martin Bashir secured interview
Previous BBC investigation ‘fell short of its high standards of integrity and transparency’
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Your support makes all the difference.Martin Bashir used “deceitful behaviour” to secure his BBC interview with Princess Diana, an official inquiry has concluded.
The explosive Panorama interview, which aired more than 20 years ago, has been scrutinised by Lord John Dyson, a former senior judge.
Here are the key findings of the inquiry.
Bashir used fake bank statements to gain access to Diana
Mr Bashir breached BBC rules by producing fake bank statements in order to gain an interview with Princess Diana, the report found.
The journalist has said that although he regrets forging the statements, he believes they had “no bearing whatsoever on the personal choice by Princess Diana to take part in the interview”, citing a handwritten note by the Princess of Wales.
Bashir deceived Earl Spencer by showing him forged statements
Mr Bashir acted to deceive Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, by showing him the fake documents in order to encourage him to arrange access to his sister.
The reporter showed him mocked-up bank statements, relating to a former employee of the earl, to try to gain the family’s trust.
Earl Spencer alleges that Mr Bashir also showed him forged bank statements falsely suggesting the former private secretary Patrick Jephson and another former royal household member were being paid by the security services to keep the princess under surveillance. Mr Bashir denies this.
Since 1995, Earl Spencer has claimed Mr Bashir lied to get the interview.
BBC fell short of standards in 1996 investigation
The subsequent internal BBC investigation “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark”, Lord Dyson’s report found.
The 1996 investigation found that a note from Diana suggested she had not been misled.
Former director-general Lord Tony Hall, who was director of BBC news and current affairs at the time, has apologised that the inquiry “fell well short of what was required”, adding that “there were further steps we could and should have taken following complaints about Martin Bashir‘s conduct”.
BBC ‘covered up’ circumstances in which Bashir secured interview
The internal investigation failed to be transparent, the report found.
The broadcaster’s press logs concealed how Mr Bashir had secured the interview, and it failed to mention the journalist’s activities or the BBC investigations of them on any news programme.
Lord Hall said: “I was wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt, basing that judgement as I did on what appeared to be deep remorse on his part.”
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