The BBC fell short of “high standards of integrity and transparency” over Martin Bashir’s 1995 interview with Princess Diana, an inquiry has found.
Bashir acted in a “deceitful” way and faked documents to obtain the interview, the inquiry said.
And the BBC’s own internal probe in 1996 into what happened was “woefully ineffective”, it added.
The BBC and Bashir have both apologised, and the BBC has written to Princes William and Harry.
The corporation said the report showed “clear failings”, admitting it should have made more effort to get to the bottom of what happened at the time.
As well as Diana’s sons, the BBC has also written apologies to Prince Charles and Diana’s brother Earl Spencer. It is also returning all awards the interview received, including a TV Bafta won in 1996.
Lord Dyson – the retired judge who led the inquiry – found:
- Bashir seriously breached BBC rules by mocking up fake bank statements to gain access to the princess
- He showed the fake documents to Earl Spencer, to gain his trust so he would introduce Bashir to Diana
- By gaining access to Diana in this way, Bashir was able to persuade her to agree to give the interview
- And as media interest in the interview increased, the BBC covered up what it had learnt about how Bashir secured the interview. Lord Dyson said this “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark”
- A 1995 letter from Princess Diana – published as evidence – said she had “no regrets” concerning the matter
Princess Diana’s interview with Bashir for Panorama was a huge scoop for the BBC – in it, the princess famously said: “There were three of us in this marriage.”
It was the first time a serving royal had spoken so openly about life in the Royal Family – viewers saw her speak about her unhappy marriage to Prince Charles, their affairs, and her bulimia.
But since then Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, has questioned Bashir’s tactics to get the interview.
The independent inquiry was commissioned by the BBC last year, after Earl Spencer went public with the allegations. Its findings were published on Thursday.
The earl told BBC Panorama: “Well, the irony is that I met Martin Bashir on the 31st of August 1995 – because exactly two years later she died, and I do draw a line between the two events.”
He said it was “quite clear” from when he introduced Bashir to Diana in September 1995 that “everyone was going to be made untrustworthy, and I think that Diana did lose trust in really key people”.
Patrick Jephson – Diana’s former private secretary – said the interview “destroyed remaining links with Buckingham Palace”.
He said after the interview, Diana lost “the royal support structure that had guided and safeguarded her for so many years” which “inevitably made her vulnerable to people who didn’t have her best interests at heart, or were unable properly to look after her”.