More than twenty-five years after an interview with Lady Di, the BBC apologizes. An independent report denounced, Thursday, May 20, the methods “Misleading” employed by journalist Martin Bashir to obtain this explosive interview for the British monarchy. Aired in the program “Panorama” in 1995 before 23 million people, the interview had propelled the career of Martin Bashir, now 58 years old, and had the effect of a bomb.
The princess, who died in 1997 in a car accident in Paris, pursued by paparazzi, had notably affirmed that there was ” three people “ in her marriage – in reference to Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles – and admitted to having an affair herself. She also confided that she suffered from bulimia. But the interviewer was accused of forging documents to obtain this interview.
In his report, former British Supreme Court justice John Dyson confirms this version and sharply criticizes the BBC for its handling of a case that dates back several years. “By his deceptive behavior, Mr. Bashir managed to organize the meeting which led to the interview”, reports the report of former Supreme Court justice John Dyson.
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False documents to convince Lady Di
In a statement, BBC chief executive Tim Davie said “Accept the conclusions” of this survey. “Although the report indicates that Diana, Princess of Wales, was in favor of the idea of an interview with the BBC, it is clear that the process of obtaining the interview did not live up to what that the public has a right to expect. We are really sorry ”, Davie said.
Diana’s brother Charles Spencer had claimed Martin Bashir had shown her account statements – which turned out to be false – proving that the security services were paying two people in court to spy on her sister. This is what prompted him, according to him, to introduce the journalist to Lady Di.
“By showing Count Spencer these false statements (…), Mr. Bashir deceived him and instigated him to arrange a meeting with Princess Diana “, specifies the report, denouncing a “Serious offense” to the editorial rules of the BBC.
” I am sorry “
“It was a stupid thing to do and it was an action that I deeply regret”, reacted Martin Bashir, who has just left the public group, in a statement. The journalist, however, claimed that these account statements had not played a decisive role in the “Personal choice” of Diana to answer her questions.
He greeted “The princess’s courageous decision to tell her story, to speak courageously about the difficulties she faced” : “She led the way in addressing so many of these issues and that is why I will always be immensely proud of this interview. “
The report also criticizes the BBC’s internal investigation in 1996 on the conditions of the interview. BBC “Failed to meet the high standards of integrity and transparency that are its hallmark”, underlines the report, stressing that the public audio-visual group had not contacted Charles Spencer to ask him his version of the facts, nor questioned the honesty of Mr. Bashir.
A botched internal investigation
Former managing director Tony Hall, who was managing editor at the time of the interview, apologized, acknowledging that the internal investigation “Was well below” required standards. He admitted having had “Wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt”.
After this interview, Martin Bashir had continued his career in the United States before returning to the United Kingdom to work for the BBC, until his resignation. Besides Lady Di, he also interviewed Michael Jackson for a documentary made in 2003 for ITV.
The now deceased pop star complained to the British audiovisual regulator, accusing Martin Bashir of giving a distorted image of his behavior and conduct as a father. In mid-May, the BBC announced the departure for health reasons of Martin Bashir, who had been in charge of religious coverage for the public broadcasting group since 2016.
