BBC issues statement on Princess Diana's 1995 interview

BBC  would hold an inquiry into how the broadcaster secured a famous 1995 interview with the late Princess Diana, said  the corporation's  head  of Britain.

The statement came amid accusations from her brother she had been tricked into taking part in the interview.

According to Reuters, Diana, during the interview, had shocked the nation by admitting to an affair and giving details of her failed marriage to heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles.

“The BBC is taking this very seriously and we want to get to the truth,” Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general said in a statement about Spencer’s claims. “We are in the process of commissioning a robust and independent investigation.” 

 Charles Spencer, earlier this month, accused the BBC of failed to apologise for what he said were forged documents and “other deceit” which led him to introduce journalist Martin Bashir to Diana.

The Daily Mail has also published what it said were notes Spencer took during a meeting with Bashir and Diana in 1995, in which the newspaper says the journalist made a series of allegations in an attempt to obtain the interview.

These included claims Diana was being bugged by the security services, that two senior aides were being paid to provide information about her, and that Bashir had provided faked bank statements to back this up.

Bashir has not commented on the matter. Reuters has been unable to contact him.

The BBC says the journalist, who gained global renown from the Diana interview and is currently the corporation’s religious affairs correspondent, was currently on sick leave, recovering from heart surgery and from contracting COVID-19-Web Desk/Reuters