BBC reopens 1995 Princess Diana interview investigation. ‘It couldn’t come at a worse time’

Many people think BBC got Diana to agree to the interview under false pretenses. Bashir has long been alleged to have used forged documents that suggested the palace staff were working against Princess Diana and being paid to spy on her, CNN anchor and correspondent Max Foster reported.

“The media landscape has changed beyond recognition in the 25 years since Diana sat down with Bashir,” Foster pointed out.

“We will do everything possible to get to the bottom of this,” Davie said in a statement.

Matt Weissler, who was a graphic designer for BBC at the time, admitted to mocking up bank statements after Bashir reached out to him and said he needed “some bank statements.” Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer claims that Bashir tricked him by showing him the false bank statements, prompting him to introduce the journalist to his sister.

“The whole premise of the interview was set up on false and dodgy grounds,” Richard Kay, a reporter at the Daily Mail, said.

Buckingham Palace was blindsided by the 1995 interview, according to Charles Anson, the queen’s press secretary at the time.

“There wasn’t much that we could say,” Anson told CNN.

Shortly after the interview, in 1996, BBC launched an internal inquiry and concluded that documents had been forged but didn’t play a role in Diana’s decision to participate in the interview.

Bashir has not defended himself publicly, and he did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. He is currently on leave, recovering from heart surgery and complications from Covid-19, according to a statement from BBC.

— CNN’s Max Foster contributed to this report.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the year of the BBC interview. It was conducted in 1995.