Despite the findings in the recent investigation into the Panorama interview, Martin Bashir, the journalist who infamously interviewed Princess Diana and was publicly chastised for it, claims he did nothing illegal or deceptive in obtaining the interview.
Bashir made his first official statement about the controversy to the Sunday Times, denying any wrongdoing on his and the BBC’s part back in 1995, when Diana decided to speak on camera about her involvement with Prince Charles.
Bashir insists he has nothing to do with the supposed false documents and/or phony phone calls to Diana. He declares, “Even in the early 1990s, there were stories and secretly recorded phone calls. I wasn’t the source of any of that.”
Bashir then added that the suggestion that Diana didn’t want the interview or that it was portrayed in a manner that hurt her afterward is clearly not real, regardless of what her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, might be claiming today, some 30 years later.
He said: “Everything we did in terms of the interview was as she wanted, from when she wanted to alert the palace, to when it was broadcast, to its contents,” while adding that, both him and his family cherished Princess Diana and continued a friendship even after the interview.
Bashir also said: “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 goes on to state that Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, placing the blame for Diana’s death solely on his shoulders was “unreasonable and unfair,” while also stating that he understands the pain.
Prince Charles and Prince Harry also called out the BBC, and Bashir by association, after the investigation revealed that the broadcaster had used misleading tactics, including fabricating bank accounts purporting to show Palace staffers taking payment for news about her.
See a clip from the infamous interview below.
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