Sabtu, 22 Mei 2021

Diana interview: Still unanswered questions - Tory MP - BBC News

Lady Diana at a Concert for Bosnia
Getty Images

The BBC still has questions to answer after an inquiry into Panorama's Diana interview, a senior Tory MP has said.

The report found Martin Bashir used deception to get the 1995 scoop.

Julian Knight, chairman of a committee that scrutinises the organisation, told the BBC he wanted to know why Bashir was rehired in 2016 and later promoted.

He has also written to the BBC's director general Tim Davie about his concerns ahead of a meeting between the pair on Wednesday.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the chairman of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the BBC should have an "open mind" about the possibility of compensation and how it interacts with whistleblowers "who have clearly faced quite profound consequences due to this fiasco".

It comes as BBC Newsnight has learned the government will give the BBC a chance to make its own changes following the independent inquiry - published on Thursday - by former senior judge Lord Dyson.

The report found Bashir was unreliable and dishonest, and the BBC fell short of its high standards when answering questions about the 1995 interview.

The Duke of Cambridge blamed BBC failings for fuelling his mother's paranoia and worsening his parents' relationship. The Duke of Sussex has also spoken about the hurt caused by the interview.

Boris Johnson said the corporation must make sure nothing like it happens again - and ministers have suggested its governance might need reform.

The BBC insists it has made fundamental changes in governance since the 1990s.

On Saturday, Princess Diana's former personal protection officer, Ken Wharfe, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Bashir's "mischievous lies" had contributed to her paranoia and convinced her to do the interview.

Broadcast in November 1995, the interview marked the first time a serving royal had spoken in such candid terms about life in the Royal Family or relationships with other royals. Shortly afterwards, the Queen wrote to Prince Charles and Princess Diana telling them to divorce.

The princess died in 1997, after the car she was in crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, in Paris.

Since the Dyson report was published, the government is determined to see change at the BBC to ensure that it can never happen again.

Ministers are interested in a proposal by the former BBC chairman Lord Grade to introduce a new independent editorial board that would report to the current management.

The idea is set to be considered next year as part of a mid-term review of the BBC's royal charter. The Royal Charter is an agreement with the government over what the BBC intends to do - including how it is funded and run - and the current charter lasts until 2027.

But Newsnight understands the corporation will be given a chance to introduce the changes itself.

"The BBC may be able to do it themselves," said a government source.

The BBC has defended rehiring Bashir, saying the post was filled after a competitive interview process. Bashir left the BBC earlier this month without a pay-off.

Speaking on Today, the BBC's former chief operating officer Caroline Thomson, said it was crucial the BBC acted quickly to restore trust.

She said whistleblowers in the Diana case should be "dealt with properly and compensated if necessary, properly apologised to" and called for a series of measures to regain trust "among BBC journalists and staff as well as among the public".

On possible changes to BBC governance, she said suggested the introduction of a new non-executive board member with dedicated responsibility for news and editorial matters who could be "the face of transparency" and available to those who would like to whistleblow.

During Princess Diana's interview with Bashir for Panorama, the princess spoke about her unhappy marriage to Prince Charles, and famously said: "There were three of us in this marriage."

The inquiry was commissioned by the BBC last year, after Earl Spencer - Diana's brother - went public with his concerns about the tactics used to get the interview.

On Friday, Mr Johnson said he hoped the BBC would take "every possible step to make sure nothing like this ever happens again".

Meanwhile Ofcom - the media watchdog - said it would be talking to the BBC about what further action might be needed.

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What did the inquiry conclude?

Lord Dyson concluded:

  • Bashir had faked documents - bank statements designed to suggest Princess Diana was under surveillance - to win the trust of her brother Earl Spencer, and eventually gain access to the princess
  • As media interest in the interview increased, the BBC covered up what it had learned about how Bashir secured the interview
  • The 1996 internal probe, led by the then director of news Tony Hall - now Lord Hall, who later became the BBC director general - into initial complaints had been "woefully ineffective"
  • A note written by Diana said she had no regrets about the broadcast and Bashir did not show her the faked documents. It was taken by the BBC as evidence that the forgery had not influenced her decision to be interviewed - but the inquiry said the BBC should have considered the possibility that the documents were shown to Earl Spencer to influence his sister
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2021-05-22 06:00:30Z
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McDonald's: Animal rights group blockades depots, activists say - BBC News

An Animal Rebellion protester, dressed as a clown, and protesters suspended from a bamboo structure outside a McDonalds distribution site in Hemel Hempstead
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Animal rights protesters say they are blockading four McDonald's distribution centres in the UK to stop deliveries to the fast-food chain's 1,300 UK outlets.

Animal Rebellion said about 50 activists were using trucks and bamboo structures to stop lorries leaving depots in Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood, Greater Manchester.

The group is targeting McDonald's "for its role in the climate emergency".

McDonald's has yet to comment.

Animal Rebellion spokesman James Ozden, at a protest in Coventry, accused the meat and dairy industry of "destroying our planet".

Mr Ozden told the BBC the meat and dairy industry was "causing huge amounts of rainforest deforestation, emitting vast quantities of greenhouse gases and killing billions of animals each year".

"The only sustainable and realistic way to feed 10 billion people is with a plant-based food system. Organic, free-range and 'sustainable' animal-based options simply aren't good enough", he said.

Animal Rebellion wants McDonald's to commit to becoming fully plant-based by 2025.

Animal Rebellion protesters suspended and attached to a bamboo structure outside a McDonalds distribution site in Hemel Hempstead
PA Media

The group tweeted that it intends to remain at the sites for at least 24 hours and aims to cause "significant disruption" to McDonald's as the restaurants restock over the weekend.

A second tweet called on McDonald's to personally engage with the activists at the protest sites, saying: "We're waiting for them to come talk to us, or we'll stop their distribution to all 1,300 restaurants ALL DAY."

Animal Rebellion describes itself as "a mass movement that uses nonviolent civil disobedience to bring about a transition to a just and sustainable plant-based food system".

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2021-05-22 08:17:41Z
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Jumat, 21 Mei 2021

Martin Bashir's Diana interview: BBC boss says 'we must learn lessons' from damning report into Panorama episode - Sky News

The director-general of the BBC has written to staff saying lessons must be learnt following the damning report into the circumstances surrounding the Panorama interview with Princess Diana.

In an internal email, Tim Davie said people across the BBC felt "deeply let down" by the contents of Lord Dyson's 127-page report, which found the corporation covered up "deceitful behaviour" used by journalist Martin Bashir to secure what was described as the "scoop of the decade" in 1995.

He said the findings were "particularly upsetting" given the BBC's commitment to fair and honest journalism.

Mr Davie took over as director-general last year from Lord Hall, who led a 1996 internal inquiry into the interview. He was director of news and current affairs at the time.

Both are facing questions over why Bashir was rehired by the BBC in 2016. The reporter - who became a household name after the Diana interview - left the BBC for ITV in 1999, but returned 17 years later to become religious affairs correspondent and then religion editor.

Mr Davie told staff: "Personally, I am deeply proud of the BBC that I run today, as I know you all are. We should all take pride in continuing to work for the world's leading public service broadcaster.

"Right now, the best way to build and preserve our reputation is to keep delivering outstanding work across the organisation, earning the trust of audiences. Thanks to all of you for continuing to achieve this as we go through this demanding period.

More on Martin Bashir

"We have much to reflect on. I know that we now have significantly stronger processes and governance in place to ensure that an event like this doesn't happen again.

"However, we must also learn lessons and keep improving."

Director-general Tim Davie delivered the news to staff
Image: Mr Davie said the findings were 'particularly upsetting' given the broadcaster's commitment to honest journalism
 Screen grab of a message sent by Tim Davie
Image: The message sent by Tim Davie said BBC staff feel 'deeply let down'

His comments come as Prince William made his first public appearance - at a football club in Edinburgh - since both he and his brother, the Duke of Sussex, issued scathing statements regarding the report.

William, the Duke of Cambridge, said the interview had fuelled his mother's "fear, paranoia and isolation" in the final years of her life and damaged her relationship with his father, the Prince of Wales.

Harry also hit out at the corporation, saying: "The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life."

During a visit to Portsmouth on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "obviously concerned" by the inquiry's findings", adding: "I can only imagine the feelings of the Royal Family and I hope very much that the BBC will be taking every possible step to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

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William: 'Deceitful' BBC interview failed my mother

Former director of BBC News James Harding, who held the post when Bashir was rehired in 2016, apologised on Friday and said responsibility for the journalist returning to the corporation "sits with me".

Speaking to BBC News, he also sidestepped questions on whether former Lord Hall had any role in the rehiring.

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairman Julian Knight said he was writing to Mr Davie to ask why Bashir had been allowed to return.

He added: "I want to know how the BBC can reassure the committee that there could be no repeat of the serious failings that have been highlighted by the Dyson report. Now more than ever the BBC must show transparency and honesty in its response. We, the committee, will be discussing these issues when we meet in a private session."

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Boris Johnson 'concerned' by BBC report

On Friday, former BBC executive Tim Suter, who was part of the 1996 internal investigation, stepped down from his current board role with media watchdog Ofcom.

He had previously been managing editor of weekly programmes in BBC News and current affairs.

Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's chief executive, confirmed he'd stepped down "by mutual agreement" and that the regulator would be entering discussions with the BBC "to ensure that this situation can never be repeated".

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'BBC turned their back on me'

Meanwhile, the graphic designer who was tasked with mocking up fake bank documents to help Bashir secure his interview has accused the BBC of "turning their back" on him.

Matt Wiessler said concerns he raised about the way the interview was secured at the time were ignored by bosses.

"It was like I was the guy that pointed out the flaw in something really beautiful, which is a scoop, and I pointed out that something wasn't right," he told Sky News.

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2021-05-21 22:08:39Z
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Martin Bashir's Diana interview: The five questions left unanswered by report into Panorama episode - Sky News

The report into how journalist Martin Bashir secured a landmark interview with Princess Diana has left several questions unanswered.

Lord Dyson, who conducted the investigation, concluded that Mr Bashir used "deceitful behaviour" to secure the Panorama interview with Princess Diana in 1995.

He found the journalist breached BBC rules by mocking up fake bank statements showing payments from a trust fund and News International into the account of Alan Waller, a former employee of Diana's brother, Earl Spencer - and showing them to the earl to gain access to the princess.

The inquiry also said the corporation covered up Mr Bashir's behaviour, and that it "fell short of high standards of integrity and transparency".

However, there were five key questions surrounding the scandal that Lord Dyson was unable to answer.

Why did senior executives choose to believe Martin Bashir so readily?

Mr Bashir admitted lying to editors and BBC executives three times about showing the fake bank statements to anyone before he was forced to admit he had shown them to Earl Spencer following a Mail on Sunday story.

But during the BBC's initial 1996 investigation, they believed Mr Bashir when he said showing the documents had not been in the context of requesting an interview.

When questions about the graphics first came up, Princess Diana had sent a note saying she had not been shown the fake documents, which Lord Hall, then director of news before becoming director-general of the BBC, said made them think she was not influenced by the graphics.

Fake bank statements relating to News International and Penfold Consultants (Jersey), as published in an Annex to Lord Dyson's independent investigation into the circumstances around the programme. Issue date: Thursday May 20, 2021.
Image: The fake bank statements Mr Bashir used to get Earl Spencer to introduce Princess Diana to him

The inquiry by Lord Hall said after talking to Mr Bashir, he was satisfied the graphic had "no part whatsoever in gaining the interview" with Diana.

He called producing the graphic "unwise" but said he believed Mr Bashir, saying he had no reason for compiling the graphic "other than he wasn't thinking".

Lord Hall said he was writing to Mr Bashir to be "a great deal more careful in the future" - and guidelines will be drawn up to cover the use of reconstructed material and the payment of people who supply information to investigative programmes.

LORD HALL
Image: Lord Hall conducted the initial 1996 inquiry that found Mr Bashir was 'contrite' and Mr Wiessler should not work for the BBC again

Lord Dyson said Lord Hall and Anne Sloman, the then-new head of weekly programming, believed Mr Bashir because "he was contrite" and Panorama editor Steve Hewlett had spoken to Earl Spencer so they did not need to.

In that inquiry, he said Matt Wiessler, the graphic designer who made the bank documents, will not work for the BBC again and leakers and "persistent troublemakers" would be removed from Panorama.

Lord Dyson said: "The failure to reach a conclusion on why Mr Bashir commissioned the fake statements (and showed them to Earl Spencer) was a fundamental failure by Lord Hall and Mrs Sloman to achieve the purpose of the investigation.

"But it should also have led them to have real doubts as to whether Mr Bashir was speaking the truth."

He added that Lord Birt, BBC director-general at the time, told him Mr Bashir was "young, persuasive and had no form and that, in the absence of any counterfactual, it was reasonable to accept what he said".

Lord Dyson says in the report: "I do not agree."

Why was Martin Bashir rehired by the BBC in 2016?

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairman Julian Knight says there are "serious questions" that need answering as to why Mr Bashir was rehired by the BBC in 2016.

It was then that Mr Bashir became the BBC's religious affairs correspondent - some two decades after the Panorama episode that made him a household name in journalism, and 17 years after he originally left the BBC for ITV in 1999.

At the time he was hired, the BBC issued a very positive press release. Jonathan Munro, the then-head of BBC newsgathering, said: "Martin's track record in enterprising journalism is well known and respected in the industry and amongst our audiences."

Lord Dyson said the issue of his re-employment was "outside" the "terms of reference" of his inquiry, leaving a question mark over how the hiring process took place.

On Friday, Mr Knight asked for an answer from the BBC's current director-general Tim Davie.

In a letter he wrote: "In the wake of the Dyson report there are serious questions still left to answer.

"Namely, why was Martin Bashir rehired, with the BBC knowing what they knew?"

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Earl Spencer: Diana didn't know who to trust

Meanwhile, the former director of BBC News apologised for the decision to rehire Mr Bashir, who later became religion editor.

James Harding, who held the post when Mr Bashir was given the job, said responsibility for the journalist returning to the corporation "sits with me" and acknowledged that the situation was "really distressing for everyone and depressing for anyone who cares about journalism or cares about the BBC".

When asked whether Lord Hall, who led the 1996 internal investigation into the interview, had any involvement in the rehiring of Mr Bashir, he said: "What I was saying is that BBC News hired Martin Bashir and so the responsibility for that sits with me."

Lord Hall has apologised for his role in the original investigation, described by Lord Hall as "woefully inadequate".

He said: "I was wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt, basing that judgment as I did on what appeared to be deep remorse on his part."

Who burgled Matt Wiessler's house?

The graphic designer who made the bank statements for Mr Bashir to show Earl Spencer, which he did not know were fake at the time, was burgled about a month after the interview aired.

Two CDs containing the graphics Mr Wiessler had created for Mr Bashir had been removed from a box they were in at his house.

He had contacted the Panorama producers and editor after the interview had aired and said he was concerned he might have unwittingly played a role in obtaining the interview by deception.

Mr Wiessler reported the theft to Tim Gardam, head of weekly programming, who said "leave it with me", then called him to say "the matter was being handled and he should not worry".

The graphic designer told Tim Suter, managing director of weekly programmes, he was worried the documents had been stolen to set him up as a "fall guy" and would be released to the press.

Diana, Princess of Wales, during her interview with Martin Bashir for the BBC
Image: Diana, Princess of Wales, during her interview with Martin Bashir for the BBC

But after speaking to Mr Bashir, Mr Suter and Mr Gardam said they accepted the journalist was telling the truth about not showing the bank document graphics to anyone and the information came from Princess Diana herself, so he could not have used them to secure the interview.

The journalist said the Princess of Wales believed Mr Waller, who had worked for Earl Spencer, was being paid via a trust fund to leak stories about her and it was possible he was employed by News International and possibly even the security services.

Mr Gardam said that "given the explanation by Bashir, there seemed little to be gained by pursuing this [the burglary]".

Lord Dyson's report does not speculate about who stole the CDs and does not make clear whether the police investigated.

Martin Bashir with the BAFTA award he won for best talk show after the Panorama interview with Diana
Image: Martin Bashir with the BAFTA award he won for best talk show after the Panorama interview with Diana

Who ordered the news blackout on the story at the BBC?

Lord Dyson said the BBC gave "evasive answers" to questions posed by newspapers in 1996 about how Mr Bashir secured the interview but he did not give any names of who prevented them from being answered.

By April 1996, there were several press enquiries to the BBC about the situation, with the Mail on Sunday being told the bank statement graphics were never published, only used in the initial part of the investigation, and discarded when some of the information could not be substantiated.

Articles continued to be written in 1996 about the fake documents and the BBC continued to say the graphics were put together as part of a wider investigation and there was nothing else to add.

The BBC press office also briefed the press that fake bank statement stories were being leaked by jealous colleagues - which Lord Hall says he did not know about and would not have supported.

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William: 'Deceitful' BBC interview failed my mother

Tom Mangold, a former Panorama reporter, wrote in 2020 that he believed Panorama's editor, Steve Hewlett, was "behind the BBC cover-up to protect himself, Bashir and the whole corporation" and said he organised the blame on "jealous colleagues", who Mr Mangold thought was aimed at him.

Mr Hewlett died in 2017 but his widow wrote to Lord Dyson denying the accusations and saying Mr Mangold had no proof, as he pointed out himself.

Lord Dyson criticised the BBC for not reporting on the allegations made against Mr Bashir, with a BBC statement from 1996 saying the story was "not sufficiently newsworthy".

Everyone Lord Dyson spoke to from that time at the BBC could not tell him who exactly had made the decision to not cover the story.

Lord Dyson said he does not believe "all the relevant BBC editors individually made decisions not to run the story because they considered it was not sufficiently newsworthy to justify even a brief mention".

He added that he is "satisfied that the BBC covered up in its press logs such facts as it had been able to establish about how Mr Bashir secured the interview...the BBC should have answered these questions".

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Prince Harry: I had to deal with my past

Were documents about Terry Venables' Spurs rescue effort 'cooked up' as well?

Former England football manager Terry Venables was the focus of two Panorama episodes presented by Mr Bashir in 1993 and 1994, before the Princess of Wales interview.

Mr Bashir alleged Mr Venables had raised his £1m share of the funds that rescued Tottenham Hotspur while he was chief executive through a "sale and leaseback" deal.

A document reproduced on screen showed a schedule of assets used as collateral, which the programme claimed he did not own.

A criminal investigation was launched and no evidence of any criminal behaviour was found but the claims dogged his managerial career.

Former England manager Terry Venables believes Martin Bashir faked bank documents showing he was using assets he did not have to raise £1m
Image: Former England manager Terry Venables believes Martin Bashir faked bank documents showing he was using assets he did not have to raise £1m

Mr Venables has long believed the documents were "cooked up" and after suggestions about Mr Bashir using forged bank documents to get the Diana interview emerged in 1996, his lawyer wrote to the BBC alleging the document used was false.

On both the documents used for the Venables episodes and given to Earl Spencer, the name "Penfolds", a Jersey-based fund, was used as one of the payers.

Lord Dyson said in his report that graphic designer Mr Wiessler, was asked to make both the bank document graphics.

But he said Panorama producer Mark Killick "strongly disputes the suggestion that his commissioning of this graphic from Mr Wiessler [for the Venables episodes] can be compared with Mr Bashir's commissioning of the fake Waller bank statements".

Princess Diana letter
Image: Princess Diana sent this letter saying she had not been shown the fake bank statements

Lord Dyson said he only mentions "the Venables affair" in the report as "various references were made to the Venables programmes after the airing of the Princess Diana interview".

But he said he could say no more about it "since I do not consider that it falls within my terms of reference to investigate it".

Mr Bashir wrote in his statement to the investigation: "I believe that I asked Matt to use the name 'Penfolds' for the Jersey-based fund - which is a name that came to mind to use as an example as it had arisen during the Venables story.

"It was a foolish addition and not a name that I had been told by the princess."

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2021-05-21 19:07:30Z
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Martin Bashir's Diana interview: BBC faces 'serious questions' over rehiring journalist who secured Panorama scoop - Sky News

The BBC is facing "serious questions" over why it rehired Martin Bashir after an internal review into the journalist's interview with Princess Diana.

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairman Julian Knight said he was writing to the corporation's current director-general Tim Davie, who took up the role last year, about the decision to employ Bashir again in 2016.

It was then that Bashir became the BBC's religious affairs correspondent - some two decades after the Panorama episode that made him a household name in journalism - and 17 years after he originally left the BBC for ITV.

Mr Knight said: "In the wake of the Dyson report there are serious questions still left to answer.

"Namely, why was Martin Bashir rehired, with the BBC knowing what they knew?

"I want to know how the BBC can reassure the committee that there could be no repeat of the serious failings that have been highlighted by the Dyson report.

"Now more than ever the BBC must show transparency and honesty in its response."

More on Martin Bashir

Following the release of a damning report into how the interview was arranged, the former director of BBC News apologised for the decision to rehire Bashir, who later became religion editor.

James Harding, who held the post when Bashir was rehired, said responsibility for the journalist returning to the corporation "sits with me" and acknowledged that the situation was "really distressing for everyone and depressing for anyone who cares about journalism or cares about the BBC".

Speaking to BBC News on Friday about rehiring Bashir, Mr Harding said: "So much of what is known now was not known then - and not by me.

"I didn't know and if I had known he wouldn't have got the job.

"The fact, I can't help feeling that the fact he was rehired in 2016 has made it more difficult for everyone so I am sorry that he was."

Asked whether former director-general Lord Hall, who led an internal investigation into the Diana interview in 1996, had any involvement in the rehiring of Bashir, he said: "What I was saying is that BBC News hired Martin Bashir and so the responsibility for that sits with me.

"Lord Dyson's report, as I understand and as I read, has clearly spoken to Lord Hall at some length. In terms of rehiring, the rehiring was done by BBC News. I ran BBC News, the responsibility for it sits with me."

Another former BBC journalist, Breakfast's Andrew Carapiet, said trust in the corporation had been "eroded" by the fallout from Lord Dyson's newly-released report, which drew anger from Prince William and Prince Harry.

Lord Dyson's report into how Bashir got the scoop and then how the BBC covered up his "deceitful behaviour" said the broadcaster "fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark".

Bashir was in "serious breach" of BBC guidelines when he faked bank statements and then showed them to Diana's brother Earl Spencer to gain access to the princess, the report said.

It also described the 1996 internal investigation as "woefully ineffective".

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William: 'Deceitful' BBC interview failed my mother

Earlier this month Bashir left the BBC, citing health reasons due to complications from COVID-19 and shortly before the publication of the Lord Dyson report.

Mr Carapiet told PA news agency: "The BBC is a public service broadcaster, it's independent and it has to maintain proper balance and due impartiality.

"All of this gets eroded by the stories around what Martin Bashir did or didn't do, and whether it's been properly investigated or not."

Lord Hall has apologised for his role in the original investigation and said: "I was wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt, basing that judgment as I did on what appeared to be deep remorse on his part."

A BBC spokeswoman said: "Trust is the cornerstone of everything we do. We must uphold the highest possible standards and that is what we will do."

The BBC has written to senior members of the Royal Family to apologise for the circumstances surrounding the interview, in which Diana said: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded", a reference to Camilla Parker Bowles - who Charles later married.

Personal expressions of regret have been sent to the Queen, the Prince of Wales, William and Harry, and Diana's brother Charles, Earl Spencer.

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BBC apology is ‘not the end of it’

It comes as a former BBC executive who was part of the 1996 internal investigation stepped down from the board of broadcasting regulator Ofcom.

Chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said: "By mutual agreement, Tim Suter, Ofcom board member and chair of Ofcom's content board, is stepping down with immediate effect.

"We would like to thank Tim for his contribution to Ofcom."

Suter was previously the managing editor of weekly programmes in BBC News and current affairs.

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2021-05-21 17:37:30Z
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Diana interview: PM concerned after inquiry into BBC deceit - BBC News

The BBC should take "every possible step" to ensure that nothing like its deceit of the Princess of Wales to secure an interview ever happens again, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

The PM said he was "very concerned" after an inquiry found Martin Bashir faked documents for his 1995 interview.

The Duke of Cambridge said the deception fuelled his mother's paranoia and worsened his parents' relationship.

The BBC said it had made fundamental changes in governance since the 1990s.

Mr Johnson said he was grateful to retired judge Lord Dyson for carrying out the inquiry, which found the BBC covered up "deceitful behaviour" by Bashir to secure the headline-making interview.

"I can only imagine the feelings of the Royal Family and I hope very much that the BBC will be taking every possible step to make sure nothing like this ever happens again," he said.

The Panorama interview featured Princess Diana giving an extraordinarily frank account of her marriage to the Prince of Wales, famously saying "there were three of us in this marriage" - a reference to her husband's affair with the future Duchess of Cornwall and admitting to an affair of her own.

Prince William, Princess Diana and Prince Harry
Getty Images

After ministers suggested that the broadcaster's governance may need to be changed, the corporation said there had been two substantial changes to how it is overseen since the time of the interview but "there is much to reflect on".

It defended rehiring Bashir as religion editor in 2016, when questions had already been asked about his conduct, saying the post was filled after a competitive interview process. Bashir has since resigned without a pay-off.

The BBC has said it would review Bashir's other work "where evidence is made available".

James Harding, who was the director of BBC News when Bashir was rehired, said that he had not known the journalist had forged bank statements and, had he known, "he wouldn't have got the job".

Asked about whether he had consulted then BBC director general Lord Hall about the reappointment, Mr Harding did not answer directly but said he took responsibility for Bashir's rehiring.

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What next for the BBC?

Analysis box by Mark Easton, home editor

This is a crisis that goes to the heart of the BBC's DNA - the values of integrity and fairness that underpin its reputation around the world.

The deceit may go back a quarter of a century, but there are unanswered questions that carry huge jeopardy for the corporation today.

In his first speech after taking over as director general, Lord Hall addressed the culture of the BBC saying that "no organisation as big as this one can avoid making mistakes" but he said when they were made "let's own up to them quickly".

But Lord Dyson's report suggests the corporation's values and principles were parked to protect its corporate reputation.

The BBC used its press office to deflect difficult questions and stands accused of hostility to staff who sought to blow the whistle on Martin Bashir's lies.

Another question the BBC must answer is why Bashir was rehired by the BBC in 2016.

Read more from Mark here.

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Media watchdog Ofcom's chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, said Lord Dyson's findings were "clearly of great concern" and raised important questions about the BBC's transparency and accountability.

She said Ofcom would be considering the report and discussing with the corporation what further actions may be needed to ensure the situation was never repeated.

Former BBC executive Tim Suter, who was part of a 1996 BBC internal investigation into the Diana interview, has stepped down from his current board role with Ofcom, the broadcast regulator said.

Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said there were "serious questions still left to answer" and he will be writing to the BBC's director general Tim Davie for urgent answers.

The Met Police said it will assess the new report, after previously deciding against a criminal investigation.

The Duke of Cambridge
PA Media

Prince William said his mother had been failed, "not just by a rogue reporter, but by leaders at the BBC who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions".

Due to the way it was obtained, Prince William has said the interview should not be shown again.

The Duke of Sussex said "a culture of exploitation and unethical practices" that are still widespread in many media outlets had contributed to his mother's death two years after the interview.

What did the inquiry conclude?

Lord Dyson concluded that Bashir had faked documents - bank statements designed to suggest Princess Diana was under surveillance - to win the trust of her brother Earl Spencer, and eventually gain access to the princess.

As media interest in the interview increased, the BBC covered up what it had learned about how Bashir secured the interview, the inquiry found.

The 1996 internal probe into initial complaints had been "woefully ineffective", Lord Dyson said.

A note written by Diana, published in the report for the first time, said she had no regrets about the broadcast and Bashir did not show her the faked documents. It was taken by the BBC as evidence that the forgery had not influenced her decision to be interviewed.

But Lord Dyson said the BBC should have considered the possibility that the documents were shown to Earl Spencer to influence his sister.

What did Princess Diana tell Panorama?

Princess Diana interviewed by Martin Bashir

The interview, broadcast in late 1995, was a huge scoop for the BBC - never before had a serving royal spoken in such candid terms about life in the Royal Family.

In it Princess Diana:

  • admitted having an affair
  • said Prince Charles's affair with Camilla Parker Bowles (now his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall) had made her feel worthless
  • spoke of there being "three of us" in the marriage
  • said she had had bulimia and self-harmed

The interview was watched by about 23 million people in the UK and it caused huge controversy.

Shortly afterwards, the Queen wrote to Prince Charles and Princess Diana telling them to divorce.

Who has apologised?

The BBC has written to apologise to Princes William and Harry, as well as the Prince of Wales and Diana's brother Earl Spencer.

Bashir has also apologised, describing mocking up the documents as "a stupid thing to do" and said he regretted it - although he stood by the interview.

The BBC's current director general, Tim Davie, said: "Although the report states that Diana, Princess of Wales, was keen on the idea of an interview with the BBC, it is clear that the process for securing the interview fell far short of what audiences have a right to expect.

"We are very sorry for this. Lord Dyson has identified clear failings."

In a statement, Lord Hall, who was director of news at the time of the broadcast before going on to be the director general, said he was wrong to give Bashir the "benefit of the doubt" in the 1996 internal investigation, which cleared Bashir, Panorama and BBC News of wrongdoing.

The current chairman of the corporation, Richard Sharp, said the BBC "unreservedly accepted" the report's findings, while Lord Birt, who was director general in 1995, said it was a "shocking blot on the BBC's enduring commitment to honest journalism".

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2021-05-21 16:57:02Z
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