David Dimbleby claims Princess Diana 'genuinely meant' what she said in interview with Martin Bashir
LONDON, ENGLAND: In 1995, in a BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, Princess Diana revealed some of the biggest concerns in the royal family and Diana's relationship with Prince Charles, as well as the reasons for their subsequent separation. There was much speculation as to whether reporter Bashir had used underhanded tactics to get an interview with the princess.
According to the DailyMail, BBC veteran David Dimbleby, speaking to Radio times recently, said, "I understand Prince William’s objections and the problem with how the interview was achieved, but I don’t believe Diana was coerced into giving it." He further added, "She clearly wants to say her part, she was not bullied or hectored into it. The clips show that what she was saying was genuinely meant."
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Lord Dyson's authoritative report, published by the BBC in 2021, revealed the "fraudulent behavior" Bashir engaged in to secure the interview, which even included presenting falsified bank statements. Meanwhile, the reporter was also accused of spreading false rumors about Princes William and Harry's former nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke. This eventually led to the BBC having to pay for the damage caused to the royal family.
On Sunday, August 21, a new Channel 4 series, 'Investigating Diana: Death in Paris" began, revealing some important stories about Princess Diana's death. Dimbleby will present a documentary about the BBC interview on August 16, highlighting the biggest controversies. While speaking about the documentary, he said that former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Stevens had recommended that Bashir be questioned under caution as part of the investigation into Diana's death.
Dimbleby also said that Stevens had told in the past Bashir would ‘definitely’ have been questioned if the investigation team knew about the underhand tactics. The BBC veteran further added that former Director-General Lord Birt, who was in charge of the corporation when the Bashir interview happened, refused to be interviewed for the program. He also stated Peter Rippon, who was editor of Newsnight also declined to take part in the program. Though he will be presenting the documentary, Dimbleby is not allowed to use the interview footage of the 1995 Panorama interview. The channel has recently vowed to never air the 1995 Panorama interview again on any platform.
In a press release on Princess Diana's death, Channel 4 stated, "Channel 4 has commissioned a four-part series from Sandpaper Films to tell for the first time the full story of two police investigations into the death of Princess Diana, one by the French Brigade Criminelle in 1997, one by the Metropolitan Police in 2004. " The series is directed by Will Jessop and Barnaby Peel and Produced by Natacha Brounais and Miriam Jones.