A national channel in crisis, 25 years after an interview obtained by more than doubtful means.
The British antenna BBC is in the grip of internal turmoil, after the publication, last Thursday, of a report outlining the questionable methods of a journalist in order to obtain an interview with Lady Di 1995. This one was apologized Sunday to Princes William and Harry.
Le Parisien returns to this controversy mixing royalty, extramarital affairs and tabloids.
What does this famous report say?
This investigation, signed by former Supreme Court justice John Dyson, denounces the methods of journalist Martin Bashir, in order to obtain an interview with Princess Diana, who will be watched by more than 23 million Britons in 1995. This man 58-year-old, who recently left the BBC for health reasons, is suspected of having used false documents in order to facilitate this interview, in which Lady Diana revealed the extramarital affair between her husband the prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (without naming her) and admitted to maintaining one herself.
Martin Bashir allegedly presented Diana's brother with false account statements supposedly proving that she was being spied on by security services.
Documents that had, according to her brother, prompted her to accept the interview.
In a letter to the BBC, Charles Spencer had asked for an apology from the journalist and assured: "If I had not seen these statements, I would never have introduced Bashir to my sister".
The report also castigates the management of this affair by the channel, which allegedly tried to bury it.
It "did not respect the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark", he regrets, while Charles Spencer has never been heard.
What was the situation at the time?
The couple had divorced shortly after this interview which had, as much as their separation in 1992, caused an earthquake within the royal family.
Two years later, on August 31, 1997, Diana was killed at just 36, in a car accident under the Alma Bridge in Paris, with her recent companion, Dodi Al-Fayed, while his vehicle was followed by paparazzi.
How did the royal family react?
Prince William, eldest son of the princely couple, did not hide his pain, the publication of the report, which he had welcomed the creation.
"It is infinitely sad to know how the failings of the BBC will have fed the fears, the paranoia and the loneliness of the last years that I spent with her", he saddened in a video Friday.
He also considered that this interview could, indirectly, lead to the divorce of his parents, further degrading their relationship, pleading so that it is "never" rebroadcast.
Harry, his little brother, blasted him, in a statement, a "ripple effect of this culture of exploitation and unethical practices."
How does the accused journalist defend himself?
At the Sunday Times on Sunday, Martin Bashir said he was "deeply sorry" vis-à-vis Harry and William, thus acknowledging the use of false account statements. He claimed he "never wanted to harm Diana in any way", adding, "And I don't believe we did." The journalist, whose career was propelled by this "scoop" and had allowed him to obtain an interview with Michael Jackson - then decried by the singer - also ensures to have remained close to Lady Di after this interview, and insists that he had respected the conditions she had set before the shooting.
“To suggest that I am individually responsible is unreasonable and unfair,” also insisted the journalist, who had been in charge of religious coverage for the BBC since 2016, before resigning in mid-May.
He also felt that he could not "be held responsible for many of the things that happened in (the) life" of Lady Di.
What troubles within the BBC?
The role of the channel at the time was criticized even in the highest spheres of the State. "I really hope that the BBC will take all possible measures to ensure that such a situation never happens again," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in particular. "It is time for the BBC to think absolutely about the conclusions of this report and to rebuild this confidence", also reacted Sunday the Minister of the Interior Priti Patel on SkyNews, while the journalistic rigor of the BBC is regularly questioned , in part because of its possible bias during major events like Brexit. The channel is also suspected of having tried to cover up the pedophile acts of its ex-star Jimmy Savile.
The government has revealed its intention to look into a possible reform of the governance of the BBC, financed by public fees.
As early as Thursday, Tony Hall, who headed the editorial team in 1995, conceded that he was "wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt".
On Saturday he resigned as chairman of the London National Gallery he held.
The current managing director, Tim Davie, for his part indicated that "it is clear that the process of obtaining the interview was not up to what the public has a right to expect" .
According to the SkyNews channel, Charles Spencer also asked the London police to open an investigation into the conditions of this interview.
The latter assured that she would study "any new significant evidence".
