Princess Diana interview scandal takes new turn as BBC refuses to release the explosive letter Buckingham Palace sent the Beeb just four days before Martin Bashir’s Panorama broadcast
The BBC is refusing to release a potentially explosive letter it received from Buckingham Palace just days before it broadcast Martin Bashir’s stunning Panorama interview with Princess Diana.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the document, which remained hidden in the BBC archives for three decades, was sent to then director-general John Birt four days before the 1995 broadcast.
It was written at a time of extraordinary tension between the Palace and the BBC.
Just days earlier, Diana admitted to royal aides that she had given Bashir an exclusive interview about the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles.
The existence of the letter – said to have come from the Queen’s office – was confirmed in 10,000 pages of heavily redacted documents that were finally released by the BBC last week.
It followed a protracted freedom of information battle between the corporation and investigative journalist Andy Webb over emails between BBC bosses, when the astonishing extent of Bashir’s deception emerged in 2020.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the expulsion letter has been hidden in the BBC archives for 30 years
Martin Bashir forged bank statements to convince the princess and her family that members of her inner circle were selling details of her private life to the press
Last night, historians and campaigners called on the company to end the ‘cover-up’ and fully release the Palace letter and all other documents.
The MoS can reveal that the document was sent to Lord Birt on November 16, 1995.
It is understood that Lord Birt, at the insistence of the Princess, had decided not to tell BBC chairman Marmaduke Hussey about the interview, fearing that Hussey would tell his wife, who was a senior lady-in-waiting to the Queen.
The newly released files refer to ‘Letter from Palace to DG – completely withheld’ and the date, but not the document itself.
The timing is intriguing. The Queen was known to be furious about the Panorama interview.
After the 1995 broadcast, the monarch removed the BBC’s exclusive rights to the production of its annual Christmas broadcast, which was seen as an act of revenge.
The Panorama episode was watched by more than 20 million viewers. Shortly afterwards, the Queen wrote to Charles and Diana urging them to divorce.
In 1996, the MoS first publicized claims that Bashir had falsified bank statements just weeks before the interview. BBC bosses, including head of news Tony Hall, carried out a ‘whitewash’ investigation at the time and cleared Bashir of any wrongdoing.
It took another 20 years before the BBC finally ordered an official investigation by High Court Judge Lord Dyson in 2021.
It concluded that Bashir had forged bank statements to convince the princess and her family that members of her inner circle were selling details of her private life and that the BBC was hiding everything it knew about his activities.
Prince William issued a strongly worded statement saying he believed the Panorama interview had contributed to the breakdown of his parents’ marriage.
The BBC has been strongly criticized for obstructing freedom of information requests over the scandal.
Under FoI rules, government agencies can choose to refuse to release communications with the royal family under a so-called Section 37 exemption.
But freedom of information campaigners and even the Information Commissioner’s Office said last night that the BBC was under no obligation to name the exceptions and could release them in full if it wanted to.
The famous Panorama episode was watched by more than 20 million people
Last night, historians and campaigners called on the company to end the ‘cover-up’ and fully release the Palace letter and all other documents.
Maurice Frankel of the Campaign for Freedom of Information said: ‘(The BBC) are free to make this letter from the Palace public if they wish, and I think they should. It is a matter of real public interest.’
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers added: ‘It may of course be that the letter is completely innocuous, but the BBC’s refusal to release it suggests they have something to hide.’
A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office said it is up to public authorities to consider each request they receive and whether they should release that information. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. Lord Birt could not be reached for comment.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We take our responsibilities… under the Freedom of Information Act very seriously.
This specific exception relates to correspondence with the Royal Household, recognizing that all parties must have a ‘safe space’ to ensure a free and frank exchange of information.’