BBC never took my statement ... I want the truth to be told
SHOCKING detail surrounding Princess Diana’s explosive Panorama interview has been revealed by the man who says he forged documents that reeled her in.
In a damning statement, graphic designer Matt Wiessler said the BBC has interviewed him about his pivotal role in the scandal.
And he told the Sunday Mirror he is we are probing the murky affair surrounding Martin Bashir’s interview with Diana.
The allegations – of false NatWest accounts, supposed payments, secret meetings and smears on the royals – are befitting of an espionage novel.
Experts suggest the BBC and Bashir could even face a criminal probe.
The Panorama chat was dynamite and changed the Royal Family forever.
Diana spoke about Prince Charles’s affair with his future wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, uttering the now infamous line: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
STRUGGLES
The princess also admitted to an affair of her own with James Hewitt and talked of her struggles with bulimia, self harm and depression.
Weeks later the Queen wrote to Charles and Diana ordering them to finalise their divorce.
Without Panorama they may never have divorced – and Diana may never have gone on to have a relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed, who died with the princess in a Paris car crash in 1997.
At the heart of the initial scandal, albeit unwittingly, is Wiessler. Now 58, he was a BBC freelancer in 1995 and says he got £250 to draft bogus bank statements for Bashir, who allegedly used them to gain access to Di.
The printouts – knocked up overnight on an early Apple Mac – 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 later blew the whistle, told the Sunday Mirror: “I haven’t made a statement to the BBC. I’m really glad you guys are looking into the story. I did what I had to do.”
Of the quest to uncover the full story, he added: “It’s been 25 years – but the world wasn’t ready for it then.”
In a written statement in 1996, Wiessler said: “At no time did Mr Bashir explain to me what the documents were for.”
Yesterday, it was claimed by Spencer that Bashir also invented 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 and they had been on holiday.
Prince Edward was be ing treated for Aids, The Queen was a “comfort eater with heart problems” and Prince William wore a watch with a listening device so Charles could spy on Diana.
The can of worms was opened by the bank forgeries and the question now is WHY Wiessler wasn’t interviewed by the BBC. He was thrown to the wolves while Bashir was let off.
A source close to Wiessler said: “Earl
Spencer has had an apology of sorts, Wiessler has never had an apology. He was just terminated by the BBC.
“He has been bitterly angry because he’s had to suck it up all his life.
“He had to give up graphic design. A man at the top of his game in TV graphics lost everything. The only winner out of that interview was Bashir. Diana lost and so did Wiessler.” In his 1996 account, Wiessler explained how:
Bashir called at his home and “briefed me exactly on what these documents were to contain”.
He spoke to three BBC executives about his fears he had been conned into reproducing the statements.
Two green back-up floppy disks of the forgeries had mysteriously vanished after he raised his concerns.
The 25th anniversary of the interview has dredged up dark and mysterious details hitherto unknown. Spencer, 56, kept a written dossier of his meetings with Bashir but says, like Wiessler, the BBC never asked him for his version of events.
The earl branded a 1996 investigation – led by then head of news Tony Hall, now Lord Hall of Birkenhead – a “whitewash”.
UNWELL
Bashir, 57, is reported to be seriously unwell with coronavirus and the BBC has been unable to speak to him about the latest developments. His interview with Diana was watched by 23million on November 20, 1995.
But it is alleged skulduggery beforehand which is now being probed.
Bashir had shown Spencer false bank statements showing a payment of £4,000 to his former head of security Alan Waller from News International, publishers of The Sun and The Times.
A second payment – for £6,500 – was from a mysterious Jersey-based outfit called Penfolds Consultants. Wiessler said at the time that he worked through the night to reproduce the documents.
Spencer has also accused Bashir of “waving around” supposed bank statements claiming Di’s private secretary Patrick Jephson and Richard Aylard, then a senior aide to Prince Charles, were paid for information.
At the time, Diana – just 36 when she died – was becoming increasingly paranoid that she was being spied on.
Spencer claims Bashir stoked these fears so that Di would talk.
Ex-BBC controller Richard Eyre was responsible for editorial guidelines at the time. He said yesterday: “In my discussions with the editor of Panorama before the Diana interview there was never any suggestion of using false information to approach Earl Spencer or anyone else.
“Any such tactic would have been entirely inappropriate.”
The BBC is reported to have made
At no time did Mr Bashir explain to me what the documents were for...
MATT WIESSLER WHO SAYS HE FORGED BANK STATEMENTS
a six-figure sum from selling the interview. This has led some lawyers and ex- cops to argue there could be grounds for a criminal investigation.
Peter Bleksley, a founder member of Scotland Yard’s undercover unit, said: “There needs to be a police investigation. My advice to Earl Spencer is to make an official allegation of forgery.
“If someone asks someone to create forged documents and subsequently gains seniority in work or gains a promotion, through which they get increased wages, I would argue this could be a financial advantage.”
Kevin Moore, ex-head of Sussex CID added: “If Earl Spencer was to allege the BBC and or Martin Bashir are guilty of an offence, then the police would be duty bound to investigate it.”
And NatWest last night refused to rule out making a police complaint over the forged statements.
Wiessler’s evidence would be crucial. He approached Steve Hewlett, then editor of Panorama, to raise concerns. In his 1996 statement, he said: “Steve reassured me the matter had been settled. In December 1995, I noticed that the back-up disks of this work had somehow disappeared.”
He also spoke to executives Tim Gardam and Tim Suter. The statement went on: “They told me they would handle the matter and they called in Tony Hall, head of news and current affairs. I received a call from Tim Gardam reassuring me they’d sorted the matter. He stressed again there would be no repercussions for me personally.” But after its probe, Lord Hall – later director general of the BBC – concluded B a shir “w a sn’ t thinking” and described his actions as a “lapse” by an “honest and honourable man” who was “contrite”. In contrast, he said Wiessler was “unwise” to produce the graphic and “will not work for the BBC again”. Wiessler said he wants to tell his side of the story on television – and has given an interview to ITV for a documentary called The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess. It will be screened tomorrow. He told the Mirror: “I’ve done a comprehensive interview.”
Spencer wants an independent probe, an apology to Diana, a donation to her charities – and for Bashir and Panorama to return awards they won.
Bashir famously went on to interview Michael Jackson at Neverland – but what started d as a glowing documentary turned into a damning portrayal of the singer’s friendship with boys.
Bashir worked in the US for some years before falling off the radar. He
BOSS Ex-BBC chief Lord Hall
OUTRAGE Di’s brother Earl Spencer
EDITOR Panorama chief Steve Hewlett
PHONE CALL Colleague Tim Gardam
returned to the BBC as its religious affairs expert in 2016 – and took part in last year’s Celebrity X Factor.
The BBC said yesterday: “We will have a robust investigation. It will have the appropriate independence people expect. We are hampered at the moment by the fact we are unable to discuss any of this with Martin Bashir, as he remains seriously unwell.
“The focus at the time was whether the princess had been misled. According to our records, the princess spoke for herself, sending a written note saying she had not seen the documents and they played no part in her decision to take part in the interview.”
Tim Gardam said: “My understanding is the BBC is opening an inquiry and therefore I think this has to be a matter for the BBC to address.”
A representative for Bashir did not respond to a request for comment from the Sunday Mirror. Lord Hall and Tim Suter declined to comment.
Earl Spencer should make a complaint... there needs to be a police investigation PETER BLEKSLEY FORMER SCOTLAND YARD INVESTIGATOR