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Princess Diana’s 1995 TV interview in which she claimed there were “three people” in her marriage to Prince Charles was fueled by rumors passed on by Diana herself, says interviewer Martin Bashir.
The BBC reporter is now under investigation for alleged lies he told Diana to gain her cooperation in an outrageous TV conversation, which ultimately led to his divorce. He is currently a BBC religious affairs reporter.
Bashir now claims that the “smears” attributed to him actually come from Princess Diana. A BBC investigation into the allegations was launched in November after Diana’s brother Earl Spencer took notes which he made public.
Spencer’s notes, taken during a meeting with Bashir and his sister, alleged that the Queen was ill and on the verge of abdication, that Prince Charles was in love with his children’s nanny, and that Prince William was wearing a Swatch watch containing a listening device.
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But Bashir now claims that the smear meeting had remarks wrongly attributed to him instead of Diana.
The BBC investigation, led by a former judge, is expected to end next month. A negative result would likely affect Bashir’s retention at the BBC.
The royal family will not pursue Bashir with a criminal investigation.
Bashir, also a former MSNBC presenter, made a name for himself on the back of the Panorama interview.
But her actions to gain access to the Princess and the BBC’s subsequent handling of the matter have been questioned for decades. Diana’s brother reopened the debate earlier this month when he presented the BBC with an evidence ‘dossier’ that sheds new light on the tactics deployed by Bashir after being cleared by the broadcaster in 1996.
Spencer called on new chief executive Tim Davie to investigate, and now the BBC has hired Lord Dyson to get answers. “The BBC is determined to find out the truth about these events and that is why we have commissioned an independent investigation,” Davie said.
Jake Kanter contributed to this report.
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