Martin Bashir says he was not responsible for events that led to Diana's death

Infamous BBC journalist Martin Bashir has denied claims that his actions led to the events that eventually killed Princess Diana in 1995 through a car crash.

In a chat with The Sunday Times, Bashir said he believed his actions did not harm Diana.

This comes after an independent investigation published on Thursday found that Bashir lied and deceived Diana that she was being spied upon to persuade her to agree to the interview in which she disclosed details of her failed marriage to Prince Charles.

“I never wanted to harm Diana in any way and I don’t believe we did,” he said.

Following the inquiry, Diana’s eldest son William has said the way the interview was secured was “deceitful” and the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to Diana’s “fear, paranoia and isolation.”

Charles and Diana's youngest son, Prince Harry and Diana’s brother Charles Spencer have said the interview was part of a series of unethical practices that ultimately cost Diana her life in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

“I don’t feel I can be held responsible for many of the other things that were going on in her life, and the complex issues surrounding those decisions,” Bashir told The Sunday Times in an interview.

“I can understand the motivation... but to channel the tragedy, the difficult relationship between the royal family and the media purely on to my shoulders feels a little unreasonable ... The suggestion I am singularly responsible I think is unreasonable and unfair.”

Bashir was quoted in the interview admitting that he used forged bank statements which the inquiry said was part of the deception of Diana . “Obviously I regret it, it was wrong,” he told the newspaper. “But it had no bearing on anything. It had no bearing on (Diana), it had no bearing on the interview.”

On Friday, the British government said it would examine how the BBC was run after the inquiry criticised the broadcaster for its “woefully ineffective” investigation into Bashir’s actions.