BBC director general apologises to Diana’s brother over use of fake bank statements to secure interview

BBC director general has apologised to Diana’s brother for the use of fake bank statements to secure a Panorama interview. Tim Davie wrote to Earl Spencer last week regarding the methods of BBC journalist Martin Bashir, but declined to open a formal investigation into the allegations. The Princess of Wales took part in an interview with Mr Bashir 25 years ago, but recent allegations claimed that subterfuge was used to obtain it, according to the Sunday Times. It is understood that Earl Spencer told Mr Davie that he has records of all of his conversations with the BBC journalist and that these are alleged to show that Mr Bashir used fake bank statements to obtain his first meeting with Princess Diana. The BBC admitted last month that Mr Bashir had shown Earl Spencer bank statements that had been made by a graphic designer from the broadcaster. An internal BBC investigation in 1996 into Mr Bashir’s behaviour concluded that fake documents were not used to secure the interview with the Princess of Wales. Sources close to Earl Spencer told the Sunday Times that the BBC had tried to brush the allegations aside to avoid investigating the matter. The sources claimed that the Earl’s own evidence “has the most unbelievable stuff” and includes Faxes from Mr Bashir about Prince Charles and records of claims that MI6 had tapped Princess Diana’s phone. The broadcaster said that although they would be willing to look into the matter if new evidence comes to light, they would be unable to go further with this while Mr Bashir is unwell with coronavirus-related complications. The BBC told the Sunday Times: “Suggesting that mocked-up documents were genuine was wrong then and it’s wrong now; the BBC of today is happy to apologise for this. The BBC’s editorial processes are now even tougher and this would not happen today. “We are open as we can be about events from a quarter of a century ago. However, with Martin Bashir seriously unwell and the programme editor having died, the BBC’s records from the time are our best, and often only, source of information, especially about the timeline of events. “These records show the focus of the BBC’s investigations into these events was whether or not the Princess of Wales had been misled, and they show that the BBC’s key piece of information was the written statement from the Princess of Wales, who said she hadn’t seen the mocked-up documents and they had played no part in her decision to take part in the interview. “None of this means the BBC won’t look at issues raised and if anyone has substantial new information they would like to share with us, we encourage them to do so - we have not been offered nor received a ‘dossier’ from anyone. While Martin is unwell, however, we are unable to progress this further.” A BBC spokesperson told the Telegraph: “We would never comment on or confirm private correspondence.” Earl Spencer has been contacted for comment.

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