It is one of the most famous interviews of the 90’s. Exactly 25 years ago, Princess Diana acknowledged, among other things, her love affair and her problems with bulimia in the BBC Panorama program. The interview led to a later divorce from Prince Charles. According to Princess Charles Spencer’s brother, however, the explosive conversation arose only because of the fraudulent actions of moderator Martin Bashir.
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2 minutes – Dirty BBC game? | Video: Martin Krepindl, Jakub Zuzánek
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The investigation will be led by a former judge of the British Supreme Court. It will focus on how the television and radio company got the interview and whether its management at the time did not hide anything.
Diana’s son, Prince William, also welcomed the new investigation. “An independent investigation is a step in the right direction. It should help find out the truth about what was behind the interview for Panorama and what decisions they then made at the BBC,” a member of the royal family said in a statement.
Controversial circumstances of the origin of the interview
In an interview with Bashir, which was watched by more than 20 million people in Britain, Diana gave the shocked nation a love affair and provided intimate details of her failed marriage to the heir to the throne, Prince Charles.
Diana’s brother Charles Spencer said this month that he had not apologized to the BBC for fake documents and “other tricks” that led him to introduce his sister to Bashir.
BBC CEO Tim Davie said his company was determined to find out the truth about Spencer’s claims.
At stake is the reputation of the entire BBC
Spencer claims that Bashir has made a number of charges against him and his sister. Such as the interception of Diana’s security services and the fact that two royal family assistants provided information about Diana for money. Spencer says Bashir also showed them fake bank statements to support his claims.
Some of the people involved in preparing the program rushed to claim that the BBC had covered the offenses.
Bashir has not commented publicly, and the BBC claims that the journalist, who gained a worldwide reputation through an interview with Diana and is now the BBC’s correspondent on church issues, is currently incapacitated for work. He is to recover from heart surgery and covid-19 infection.
The BBC said its investigation would focus on five issues. For example, what steps the BBC and Bashir took to obtain an interview, “including the provision of fake bank statements to prove payments to a former Earl of Spencer employee, alleged payments to members of the royal household, and other matters recently raised by Count Spencer.”
Princess Diana herself died in 1997 after a car accident in one of the Paris tunnels.
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