Pressure grows on BBC as Johnson ‘very concerned’ by Diana interview
Pressure is growing on the BBC over its handling of Martin Bashir’s Panorama interview with Princess Diana.
The Prime Minister questionedthecorporation’sactions after an inquiry found the broadcastercoveredup“deceitful behaviour” used by Bashir to secure his headline-making interview in 1995.
Speaking during a visit to Portsmouth on Friday, Mr Johnson warned steps needed to be taken to prevent something like it happening again.
He said: "I'm obviously concerned by the findings of Lord Dyson's report – I'm very grateful to him for what he has done.
“I can only imagine the feelings of the royal family and I hope very much that the BBC will be taking every possible step to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
The 127-page report found Bashir was in “serious breach” of the BBC’S producer guidelines when he faked bank statements and showed them to Diana’s brother Earl Spencer to gain access to the princess.
Senior BBC executives were alsocriticisedinthereportover a 1996 internal investigation which examined the mockedup documents relating to the earl’s former employee.
It said: "I have concluded that, without justification, the
BBC covered up in its press logs such facts as it had been able to establish about how Mr Bashir secured the interview; and failed to mention the issue at all on any news programme and thereby fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparencywhichareitshallmark."
Now Scotland Yard, which previously said it would not launch a criminal investigation into Bashir’s actions, has revealed it will “assess” the report to “to ensure there is no significant new evidence”.
William and Harry have also condemned the BBC for its treatment of Diana, claiming their mother’s Panorama interview fuelled her “fear, paranoia and isolation” and a wider “culture of exploitation and unethicalpracticesultimatelytookher life”.
In his rebuke of the BBC, the Duke of Cambridge said: “The interviewwasamajorcontributiontomakingmyparents’relationship
worse and has since hurt countless others.
“It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’S failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolationthatirememberfromthose final years with her.
“But what saddens me most, is that if the BBC had properly investigatedthecomplaintsand concernsfirstraisedin1995,my motherwouldhaveknownthat she had been deceived.”
Now William has demanded thedocumentaryneverbeaired again.
The 38-year-old said: “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.”
The UK Justice Secretary has said ministers will be looking into whether there were BBC governanceissuesoutsideofthe remit of Lord Dyson’s reports that needed reviewing.
Robert Buckland said: “My colleaguetheculturesecretary, Oliver Dowden, has rightly said that we should look at the governance structures of the BBC.
“We will take time to do that – the report that Lord Dyson issued yesterday is 127 pages long, so that needs to be looked at very carefully.
“And there may be issues that Lord Dyson wasn’t asked to cover that need to be looked at more widely, so it is a very serious moment for the BBC.
“Theyhaveapologised,which is appropriate, but clearly the wider issues of governance and thewaythingsarerunnowneed to be looked at.”
The scandal has also prompted a rebuke from media watchdog Ofcom, which warned further action may be necessary.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive, said: “Lorddyson’sfindingsareclearly of great concern and raise important questions about the BBC’S transparency and accountability.
"As the BBC’S independent regulator Ofcom is considering the report, and will be discussing with the BBC what further actions may be needed to ensure that this situation can never be repeated.”
Dame Melanie also revealed former BBC executive Tim Suter, who was part of the 1996 internal investigation into Martin Bashir’s interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, has stepped down from his current board role with Ofcom.
She added: “By mutual agreement, Tim Suter, Ofcom board member and chair of Ofcom’s contentboard,issteppingdown with immediate effect.
"We would like to thank Tim for his contribution to Ofcom.”
Former director of BBC News James Harding said he tookresponsibilityfortherehiring of Martin Bashir by the corporation in 2016.
Mr Bashir left the BBC in 1999, before returning in 2016 and becoming religion editor.
Mr Harding told BBC News: “It’s distressing for everyone, and it’s depressing for anyone who cares about journalism and the BBC. I wanted to say so much of what is known now was not known then, and certainly not by me.”
When asked if he knew that Mr Bashir had forged bank statements, he replied: “I didn’t know and in fact if I had he wouldn’t have got the job.”
Mr Harding refused to comment on whether he had discussed rehiring Mr Bashir with then director-general Tony Hall, saying instead: “The way I think about it is that I was running BBC when Martin Bashir was hired back into BBC News, and so the responsibility for that sits with me.”
THE SCOTSMAN Saturday 22 May 2021
Prince Harry reveals he turned to drink and drugs in the years after Diana’s death
The Duke of Sussex has admitted he turned to drink and drugs as he dealt with the trauma of his mother's death later in life.
In the first instalments of his mental health documentary series with Oprah Winfrey, Harry said he used alcohol to "mask" his emotions, spoke about Meghan's struggles with suicidal thoughts and how therapy has given him hope.
The duke once again lambasted the parenting skills of the Prince of Wales, criticising his father for expecting his sons to endure the pressures of royal life, just as Charles has done, instead of protecting them.
Harry criticised his family, accusing them of "total neglect" when his wife Meghan was feeling suicidal amid harassment on social media.
And he laid bare his battles
with panic attacks and severe anxiety, saying "so 28 to probably 32 was a nightmare time in my life".
His comments, which were aired on Friday, are likely to increase the much publicised tensions within the royal family following Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview with Winfrey.
In that programme the Sussexes first accused the royal family of not supporting them, claimed royal aides declined to help Meghan when she was troubled with suicidal thoughts and said a relative had made a racist comment about their son's skin colour.
During the first three episodes of Apple TV'S The Me You Can't See, Harry told Winfrey about his substance abuse.
Hours before it aired, Harry joined his brother the Duke of Cambridge in criticising
the BBC following an inquiry which found the broadcaster covered up "deceitful behaviour" used by journalist Martin Bashir to secure his headline-making 1995 interview with their mother.
Harry told Winfrey: "I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling."
The duke would drink a week's worth of alcohol on a Friday or Saturday night "not because I was enjoying it but because I was trying to mask something".
As a 17-year-old he was involved in under-age drinking and taking cannabis, with his father sending him to visit a rehabilitation clinic in south-east London, to highlight the long-term dangers of drug use.
The duke also told Winfrey his family did not speak
about Diana's death and expected him to just deal with the resulting press attention and mental distress.
When asked how he was Harry would tell people he was fine: "But I was just all over the place mentally, every time I put a suit on and tie on and having to do the role, and go, 'right, game face', look in the mirror and say, 'let's go'. Before I'd even left the house I was pouring with sweat... I was in fight or flight mode. Panic attacks, severe anxiety, and so 28 to probably 32 was a nightmare time in my life."
He said that after marrying Meghan his attempts to get help from his family, following online trolling which was pushing her to the brink, were ignored. He said: "Every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, to stop just got met with total silence or total neglect."