BBC to launch internal probe into Diana interview row

LONDON: The BBC said on Monday it will review its editorial policies and governance after an independent report found one of its journalists used deception to secure a landmark interview with Princess Diana.

The British broadcaster’s board said the internal probe would be conducted by a group of non-executive directors led by Nick Serota, its senior independent director, and report back by September.

"We must not just assume that mistakes of the past cannot be repeated today -- we must make sure that this is the case," the board of governors said in a lengthy statement. "We think it is right that we review the effectiveness of the BBC’s editorial policies and governance in detail," it added.

An investigation by retired judge John Dyson concluded last Thursday that journalist Martin Bashir had tricked Diana’s brother Charles Spencer into helping to arrange the 1995 interview, in which she spoke candidly about her troubled marriage to Prince Charles.