Princess Diana’s 1995 television interview in which she claimed that “three” in her marriage to Bonnie Prince Charlie was prompted by rumors submitted by Diana herself, said that interviewer Martin Bashir.
A BBC reporter is now under investigation for proven lies that prompted Diana to secure her co-operation in a televised televised conversation, which led to her divorce. He is currently the BBC’s religious affairs correspondent.
Bashir now claims that the “smears” given to him came from Princess Diana. The BBC probe over the allegations was launched in November after Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, made notes that he took publicly.
Spencer’s notes, taken at a meeting with Bashir and his sister, held that the Queen was ill and that when she was released, Prince Charles was in love with his children’s nanny, and that Prince William was wearing a Swatch watch that contained a bugging device.
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But Bashir now claims the smear meeting had given him ideas through error instead of Diana.
The BBC probe, led by a former judge, is expected to be ready next month. A negative outcome could affect Bashir’s continued tenure with the BBC.
It is reported that the Royal Family will not pursue Bashir with a criminal investigation.
Bashir, who was also an MSNBC anchor, made a name behind the Panorama interview.
But what he has done in accessing the Princess, and how the BBC handled the case, has been for decades. Diana’s brother opened the debate earlier this month when he gave evidence to a BBC “dossier” who says he sheds new light on the tactics Bashir used after he was wrongly evicted by him. the broadcaster in 1996.
Spencer called for new chief executive Tim Davie to investigate, and now the BBC has hired Lord Dyson to answer. “The BBC is determined to find out about these events and that is why we have commissioned an independent inquiry,” said Davie.
Jake Kanter contributed to this report.