BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell claims he ‘put the idea of doing a Panorama interview into Princess Diana’s head’ as he brands Martin Bashir an ‘absolute blaggard’

Nicholas Witchell branded Martin Bashir an ‘absolute slave’ as he hit out at his disgraced old colleague, who famously spoke to Princess Diana in a sensational 1995 interview.

The BBC’s veteran royal correspondent revealed that he was ‘the person who put the idea’ of doing Panorama into the late royal’s head, and approached a member of the royal family, whom he did not name, with the proposal.

“Initially I was going to be the person to do the interview, and I was going to lunch twice to discuss it with her, but at that point I was made aware that this absolute brawler named Martin Bashir had entered the picture,” said he to the Telegraph.

‘At the time, no one had any reason to think that anything untoward was happening. It always puzzled me that he could get next to her.’

In 2020, the Daily Mail revealed that Bashir had cheated on Diana in a Panorama interview in which she said ‘there are three of us in this marriage’ – referring to Camilla.

Bashir had forged bank statements to make Diana think her inner circle was selling her secrets.

An inquiry by Lord Dyson, a former High Court judge – to which Nicholas gave evidence – concluded that the BBC covered up Bashir’s ‘deceptive behaviour’ by playing up Diana’s insecurities to obtain the interview.

Nicholas has also said in the past that he was told to ‘back off’ on speaking to Diana, to give his colleague Martin Bashir a ‘clear run’.

But the 70-year-old was told by Steve Hewlett, then editor of Panorama, to stand down so Bashir could secure the interview while working on a ‘confidential basis’.

Nicholas, who became a royal correspondent three years later in 1998, said he was told the matter ‘must be kept secret from the Kensington Palace authorities’.

Interviewed on Lord Dyson’s report on BBC Breakfast in 2021, he said: ‘I was going to meet Princess Diana twice to discuss the Panorama interview.

‘And it was explained to me that Martin Bashir was working on a confidential basis and that it was necessary to keep this matter secret from the Kensington Palace authorities.

‘And I must say that in the years since then I have always wondered how it was that Martin Bashir managed to get next to the princess. Well, now we know.’

Nicholas also joined the Telegraph about being one of the first people to find out about Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997, as he was eight hours ahead of British time when he boarded a plane in Manila.

‘I called the BBC newsroom. I found it hard to get the words out, I felt like if I said it, that was it – this tsunami of news and sadness started,’ he admitted.

Veteran broadcaster Nicholas, who has covered the royal family for nearly three decades, is set to retire next year. He joined the broadcaster in 1976 as a graduate news trainee.

In 2005, the then Prince of Wales was caught on a microphone making comments about Nicholas.

During a photo shoot in the Swiss Alps, the journalist asked Camilla Parker Bowles a question about the royal’s upcoming nuptials.

Sitting next to his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, he said: ‘Blood people. I can’t stand that man. I mean, he’s so awful, he really is.’

William remained calm and politely said, “As long as I don’t lose the rings. I have one responsibility and I am bound to do something wrong.’

The family was on holiday at Klosters ski resort in the Swiss Alps.

Aides suggested that Charles was upset about William and Kate – then just the prince’s girlfriend – being photographed the day before.

However, there appear to be no hard feelings from Nicholas, who told the Telegraph that while he was ‘shocked’, ‘we’re all muttering under our breath, aren’t we?’

It comes after recent reports that the BBC spent £100,000 of license payers’ money on a legal battle to keep secret thousands of emails relating to Bashir’s infamous interview with Diana.

BBC chiefs have refused to release the emails which could reveal explosive details about how he handled the scandal as it broke three years ago.

But documentary maker Andy Webb, who helped expose the cover-up, believes the BBC has not released all its incriminating evidence. In 2021, he requested all emails between BBC executives and its information office sent from September to November 2000.

The BBC fiercely resisted his request for more than two years and appointed a legal team led by barrister Jason Pobjoy of Blackstone Chambers, who represented Boris Johnson during the Partygate allegations.

Embarrassingly, the Corporation initially claimed its archive contained no further documents – only to apologize after discovering 3,200 emails. However, it then refused to make it public, arguing that it was either irrelevant or contained ‘legally privileged’ information.

Now, figures obtained by Mr Webb show how the BBC has racked up more than £75,700 in legal fees fighting his request until July. A day-long hearing was held at the Information Rights Tribunal last month, pushing the Corporation’s likely legal costs above £100,000.

The spending comes after the BBC spent £1.4m on the six-month inquiry by Lord Dyson.

Mr Webb last month criticized the Corporation for a ‘shocking’ waste of license fee payers’ money and questioned why it was still fighting to keep the emails under control.

He said: ‘The BBC says that all these emails I have asked for are “irrelevant”. Yet they spent tens of thousands of pounds in public funds to keep them secret.

‘This seems like a shocking waste of license fee payers’ money and naturally deepens my suspicion that the BBC is still covering up. If they have nothing to hide, why on earth don’t they release these documents?’

Under a possible compromise struck a few weeks ago, the BBC agreed to let Mr Webb see a sample of 477 of his emails. The BBC apologized to the tribunal for ‘mistakes’ in its handling of disclosure relating to the Panorama interview.

Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, told last month’s hearing that a BBC executive falsely claimed he had conspired with Bashir to persuade Diana to take part in the Panorama interview.

A heavily redacted briefing by Lord Hall of Birkenhead – head of news at the time and later director general – to the BBC’s governors in 1996 suggested that Earl Spencer had given Bashir bank statements belonging to his former head of security.

Asked last week if it was true that he conspired with Bashir, Earl Spencer, who is backing Mr Webb’s case, replied: ‘No, I didn’t.’

He also dismissed a suggestion from a BBC executive that the allegation was already in the public domain before the broadcaster released Lord Hall’s briefing in 2020.

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to resolving legal issues without external support where possible, but there are times when we do need to draw on external legal advice and representation – this can happen when legal action is initiated by others.

‘In relation to the ongoing proceedings regarding the handling of a Freedom of Information Act request, the BBC accepted that mistakes had been made and apologized to Mr Webb and the Tribunal.

“The BBC has acted in good faith at all times, has taken extensive steps to correct those past mistakes and is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.”