It sure hasn’t been the BBC’s week, their month, or even their year, especially when it comes to all of the drama with the British Royal Family.
According to new reports, the BBC has paid Diana, Princess of Wales’s private secretary, Patrick Jephson, a “substantial sum” in damages and apologized unreservedly for the “harm caused to him” over Martin Bashir’s Panorama interview.
The BBC Agrees Another Settlement With Princess Diana’s Private Secretary
Lord Dyson, a former master of the rolls and head of civil justice, was appointed to look into the circumstances surrounding the explosive 1995 interview, which famously featured Diana saying: “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, said it was seeing the supposed payments to Jephson – one of the royal’s closest aides – that proved to be the “absolute clincher” that convinced him to introduce Bashir to his sister. This ultimately led to her decision to take part in an on-the-record interview with Panorama.
Back in September of 2021, it was reported that there wouldn’t be an investigation into Princess Diana’s BBC Panorama interview. The BBC was forced to apologize to Princess Diana and the royal family for the interview.
Lord Dyson publicly released his report into whether BBC reporter Martin Bashir deceived Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, into introducing him to the princess. His report also criticized a 1996 internal investigation conducted by former director-general Lord Tony Hall, who was director of BBC news and current affairs when the Diana interview was screened, as “woefully ineffective.”
Apparently, Martin Bashir commissioned fake bank statements and used “deceitful behavior” in a “serious breach” of the BBC’s producer guidelines to secure his Panorama interview, the inquiry concluded.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “In March 2021, the MPS determined it was not appropriate to begin a criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful activity in connection with a documentary broadcast in 1995 but should any significant new evidence emerge it would be assessed.
Last year Bashir apologized for his actions during the Princess Diana BBC Panorama interview but at the same time says that he never meant to harm the princess. Speaking to The Sunday Times, Bashir says that Princess Diana was never unhappy about the content of the interview and said that they continued to be friends even after the interview aired.
Yet, the investigation released at the end of the week found Bashir forged bank statements to leverage Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, into arranging a meeting with the Princess.
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