BBC didn’t take my statement. I want truth about Diana show to be known
Geraldine McKelvie Shocking detail surrounding Princess Diana’s Panorama interview has been revealed by the man who says he forged documents that reeled her in.
Graphic designer Matt Wiessler revealed the BBC has never interviewed him about his role in the scandal.
And he insisted he is glad they are probing it.
Experts suggest the BBC and interviewer Martin Bashir could even face a criminal probe.
At the heart of it is Wiessler. Now 58, he was a BBC freelancer in 1995, when Diana spoke to Bashir.
Wiessler says he was paid £ 250 to draft bogus bank statements for Bashir, who allegedly used them to gain access to Di. The printouts detailed transactions purportedly from an employee of Di’s brother Earl Spencer. They suggested payments received for stories. But the statements were false.
Wiessler, who blew the whistle, said: “I haven’t made a statement to the BBC. I’m really glad you guys are looking into the story.”
In a statement written in 1996, Wiessler said: “At no time did Mr Bashir explain to me what the documents were for.”
Yesterday, it was claimed by Earl Spencer that Bashir a lso invented a string of wild stories about the royals to get Di onside. Bashir allegedly said:
Diana’s mail was being opened, her car tracked and phoned tapped.
Prince Charles was “in love” with royal nanny Tiggy
Legge-Bourke.
Prince Edward was being treated for Aids and The Queen was a “comfort eater with heart problems”.
Prince William wore a watch with a listening device so Charles could spy on Diana.
The bank forgeries are said to have been Bashir’s opening gambit with Spencer. The question is why Wiessler wasn’t interviewed by the BBC.
A source said: “Earl Spencer has had an apology of sorts, Wiessler has never had an apology. He was just terminated by the BBC. The only winner out of that interview was Bashir.”