William laughs off Harry drama, police to examine report into Martin Bashir’s BBC interview with Princess Diana
Prince William looked to not have a care in the world as he kicked off a tour of Scotland amid the fallout from his brother’s latest attack on the royal family.
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Prince William was in fine spirits as he continued on with his royal duties, amid his brother’s latest public attacks towards the royal family.
The Duke of Cambridge roared with laughter during a stop on his seven-day tour of Scotland.
The future king grinned at his first royal engagement of the trip, just hours after his younger brother released a string of bombshells about royal life.
Prince Harry spoke out in a documentary with Oprah – with the episode seeing the royal claim he felt compelled to step away from the royal family as he was “controlled through fear” and told not to talk about his “trauma”.
Experts have said the Duke of Sussex’s revelations would have left his family “tearing out their hair”.
But Prince William managed to look relaxed after his brother’s claims about his “nightmare” life within the Firm.
The Duke of Cambridge was pictured looking relaxed and smiling during a visit to Spartans Football Club’s Ainslie Park Stadium in Edinburgh, where he heard about initiatives championing mental health ahead of the weekend’s Scottish Cup Final.
And the royal, who is second in line to the throne, appeared to be in good spirits as he kicked a ball and took part in an activity called the “How’s your touch?” challenge, before sitting in the stands as he spoke to footballers.
It’s been a rollercoaster 24 hours for the royals, with Prince William reacting to the BBC Panorama scandal.
Prince William said the BBC “let my mother down, my family down and let the public down too” after Princess Diana’s interviewer Martin Bashir was found to be “deceitful”.
And the Duke of Sussex’s mental health project, which he teamed up with Oprah on, was then released just hours later.
The Me You Can’t See episode saw Prince Harry claim he had been neglected by his family.
Harry opened up about his struggles with his mental wellbeing and claimed his father Prince Charles left him to “suffer” amid “total neglect” for his mental health.
POLICE TO LOOK AT BBC DIANA REPORT
Meanwhile, Scotland Yard says it will “assess the contents” of a report into Martin Bashir’s BBC interview with Princess Diana “to ensure there is no significant new evidence”.
An inquiry found Bashir had acted deceitfully to gain the late Princess of Wales’ trust and secure the now infamous Panorama interview from 1995.
In a statement to The Mirror, the Met Police said: “In March 2021, the MPS determined it was not appropriate to begin a criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful activity in connection with a documentary broadcast in 1995 but should any significant new evidence emerge it would be assessed.
“Following the publication of Lord Dyson’s report we will assess its contents to ensure there is no significant new evidence.”
Hours after the inquiry’s findings were handed down, Prince William and Prince Harry issued scathing statements condemning the actions of the former BBC journalist saying, “our mother lost her life because of this.”
“Our mother was an incredible woman who dedicated her life to service. She was resilient, brave, and unquestionably honest,” Prince Harry said.
“The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life.
“To those who have taken some form of accountability, thank you for owning it. That is the first step towards justice and truth.”
“Yet what deeply concerns me is that practice like these – and even worse – are still widespread today,” he said.
“Then, and now, it’s bigger than one outlet, one network, or one publication.
“Our mother lost her life because of this, and nothing has changed.
“By protecting her legacy, we protect everyone, and uphold the dignity with which she lived her life.
“Let’s remember who she was and what she stood for.”
Prince William issued a similarly scathing statement that called the findings “extremely concerning” criticised the BBC for making “lurid and false claims about the Royal Family which played on her [Princess Diana’s] fears and fuelled paranoia.”
The statement said the BBC also “displayed woeful incompetence when investigating complaints and concerns about the program” and “covered up what they knew from their internal investigation.”
“It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said. The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others,” Prince William said.
“It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.
“But what saddens me most, is that if the BBC had properly investigated the complaints and concerns first raised in 1995, my mother would have known that she had been deceived. She was failed not just by a rogue reporter, but by leaders at the BBC who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions.
“It is my firm view that this Panorama program holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialised by the BBC and others.
“This settled narrative now needs to be addressed by the BBC and anyone else who has written or intends to write about these events,” the statement read.
“In an era of fake news, public service broadcasting and a free press have never been more important. These failings, identified by investigative journalists, not only let my mother down, and my family down; they let the public down too.”
BASHIR USED ‘DECEITFUL BEHAVIOUR’
BBC journalist Martin Bashir faked bank statements and used “deceitful behaviour” to secure his controversial interview with Princess Diana in 1995, according to a damning report.
The 127-page report, released on Thursday (local time), concluded that the journalist “deceived and induced” the late royal’s brother, Earl Spencer, into securing the interview for Panorama, The Telegraph reported.
The six-month independent inquiry conducted by Lord Dyson yesterday found the BBC “did not scrutinise” Mr Bashir despite knowing he lied three times.
And it also confirmed the journalist commissioned fake bank statements and used “deceitful behaviour” to get the interview.
The scathing report also said the BBC “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark”.
And it revealed the corporation “without justification” had “covered up” Mr Bashir’s sensational lies.
The BBC has now written to the royal family to apologise.
According to The Sun, Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer told previously how Mr Bashir used forged bank statements to convince the royal to do the interview.
He said the papers wrongly showed two senior royal courtiers were being paid by the security services for information on his sister.
The false documents also gave the impression associates of the royal family were selling stories to newspapers.
Earl Spencer said if he hadn’t seen the bank statements he would not have made the introduction and the interview wouldn’t have happened.
He also claimed he was – falsely – told Princess Diana was under surveillance and those close to her were plotting against her, all to make her feel increasingly paranoid.
The report found Mr Bashir “deceived and induced” Earl Spencer – with former director-general of the BBC Lord Birt branding him a “rogue reporter”.
Lord Dyson said Diana’s brother was “not approached” by the BBC when questions were raised over the forged bank statements.
The broadcaster also accepted the account Mr Bashir gave in a previous investigation as “truthful”, the report found.
Lord Dyson said the failure to interview Earl Spencer was a “big mistake” and meant he could not have concluded “as he did, that Mr Bashir was an honest and honourable man”.
BASHIR ‘DEEPLY REGRETS’ DECEIT
According to the outlet, the BBC’s current-director general Tim Davie said the corporation accepts “in full” the findings of former High Court Judge Lord Dyson.
“Although the report states that Diana, Princess of Wales, was keen on the idea of an interview with the BBC, it is clear that the proceeds for securing the interview fell far short of what audiences have a right to expect,” said Mr Davie. “We are very sorry for this. Lord Dyson has identified clear failings.
“While today’s BBC has significantly better processes and procedures, those that existed at the time should have prevented the interview being secured this way,” he continued.
“The BBC should have made greater effort to get to the bottom of what happened at the time and been more transparent about what it knew. While the BBC cannot turn back the clock after a quarter of a century, we can make a full and unconditional apology. The BBC offers that today.”
In response to Lord Dyson’s report, Mr Bashir released his own statement.
“This is the second time that I have willingly fully co-operated with an investigation into events more than 25 years ago,” said the 58-year-old, as quoted by the outlet.
“I apologised then, and I do so again now, over the fact that I asked for bank statements to be mocked up. It was a stupid thing to do and was an action I deeply regret. But I absolutely stand by the evidence I gave a quarter of a century ago, and again more recently.”
“I also reiterate that the bank statements had no bearing whatsoever on the personal choice by Princess Diana to take part in the interview,” Mr Bashir said.
“Evidence handed to the inquiry in her own handwriting (and published alongside the report today) unequivocally confirms this, and other compelling evidence presented to Lord Dyson reinforces it. In fact, despite his other findings, Lord Dyson himself in any event accepts that the princess would probably have agreed to be interviewed without what he describes as my ‘intervention.’
“It is saddening that this single issue has been allowed to overshadow the princess’ brave decision to tell her story, to courageously talk through the difficulties she faced, and, to help address the silence and stigma that surrounded mental health issues all those years ago. She led the way in addressing so many of these issues and that’s why I will always remain immensely proud of that interview.”
SPENCER ‘BELIEVED’ FAULTY STATEMENTS
Lord Dyson was commissioned six months ago by Mr Davie to conduct an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the bombshell tell-all. It was alleged that Mr Bashir breached the BBC’s editorial guidelines by creating two false bank statements that he showed to Earl Spencer. The 57-year-old then introduced Mr Bashir to Princess Diana. The interview took place two months later from the meeting.
In November 2020, Earl Spencer told People magazine the documents were influential in his decision to approach his sister about the interview, as they alleged that a member of his staff was being paid by tabloids to leak information about the princess’s family.
“This was what led me to talk to Diana about such things,” he told the outlet. “This, in turn, led to the meeting where I introduced Diana to Bashir, on September 19, 1995. This then led to the interview.”
In October 2020, the Sunday Times alleged that Mr Bashir manipulated Princess Diana into giving the tell-all by showing those faulty bank statements to her brother. After facing pressure from Princess Diana’s family following the report, Mr Davie commissioned an independent inquiry to investigate Mr Bashir’s tactics.
Mr Bashir is also believed to have convinced the Princess that her phones were tapped and that she was being followed.
“This could be the BBC’s phone hacking moment,” a source told the UK’s Telegraph.
Princess Diana’s friend, Simone Simmons, gave evidence during the inquiry and said Mr Bashir “conned” the mother-of-two during a period of extreme vulnerability.
“Diana was conned into doing the program, and it wasn’t just forged bank documents,” Ms Simmons told The Sun.
Both Prince William and Prince Harry welcomed the inquiry.
SUBJECT OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Earlier this year, Mr Bashir was the subject of a criminal investigation. However, the Metropolitan Police decided in March that “no further action would be taken against the journalist.”
“In recent months the Metropolitan Police Service received correspondence alleging unlawful activity in connection with a documentary broadcast in 1995,” Commander Alex Murray said in a Scotland Yard release.
“This was carefully assessed by specialist detectives. Following this detailed assessment and in view of the advice we received, we have determined that it is not appropriate to begin a criminal investigation into these allegations.”
Mr Bashir has stepped down from his role as the editor of religion for BBC. The departure was confirmed in an email BBC’s deputy director of news Jonathan Munro sent to staff.
“He let us know of his decision last month, just before being readmitted to hospital for another surgical procedure on his heart,” Mr Munro wrote. “Although he underwent major surgery toward the end of last year, he is facing some ongoing issues and has decided to focus on his health.”
In the infamous interview, the Princess of Wales said “there were three of us in this marriage,” referring to Prince Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, who he married after Princess Diana’s death.
In the years following the royal bombshell chat, Mr Bashir interviewed Michael Jackson, who later complained of feeling tricked by the interview, and actor Robert Downey-Jnr, who walked out mid-interview due to Mr Bashir’s questioning.
Princess Diana, who officially divorced Prince Charles in 1996, died in a Paris car crash in 1997 as she was being pursued by paparazzi. She was 36.
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