The inquiry found Martin Bashir had acted deceitfully to secure the interview (Image: Martin Bashir has been accused of using fraudulent means to get the Diana interview)
By Russell Myers
Prince William said he was in no doubt that the disgraced reporter’s web of deceit “substantially influenced” what Princess Diana said and “was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse”
Prince William has savaged the BBC over its handling of the Martin Bashir Panorama scandal, as he revealed his “indescribable sadness” at the corporation’s failings in airing the 1995 programme which plagued “her fear, paranoia and isolation”.
The future king said he was in no doubt that the disgraced reporter’s web of deceit “substantially influenced” what Princess Diana said and “was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse”. In an unprecedented and highly personal recorded statement, following the devastating findings of an independent report into the BBC practices in landing its “scoop of the century”, The Duke of Cambridge called for BBC’s flagship investigative programme to never air again.
Incredulous William went further to suggest Panorama “holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again” adding: “It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialised by the BBC and others. Industry insiders said the hammer blow could be terminal for the BBC as it scrambled yesterday to send written apologies to the Queen, the Prince of Wales and Princes William and Harry.
William blasted BBC top brass for presiding over a “cover up”, rather than lay the blame squarely with “rogue reporter” Martin Bashir. Those failings meant she died not knowing she had been the victim of such wholesale deception, he said.
The BBC was judged to have “covered up” what it knew of his catalogue of deception as well as being “woefully ineffective” in investigating claims against Bashir, after allegations surfaced that he had used fake bank statements to falsely claim Diana’s inner circle were selling information on her to the press.
William slammed “lurid and false claims about the Royal Family” made by the reporter, including sickening mustruths that the Queen had an eating disorder, Prince Edward was receiving private treatment for AIDS, while Camilla was suffering from depression.
The deception went further to play on Diana’s suspicions that Prince Charles was in love and engaged in an affair with her children’s nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke. And in an astonishing broadside against the broadcaster William, 38, said the catalogue of failings: “not only let my mother down, and my family down; they let the public down too.”In a statement broadcast to the nation last night, William said: “I would like to thank Lord Dyson and his team for the report.
Source: The Daily Mirror,