BBC Must Release Emails Relating To Martin Bashir’s Princess Diana Interview, Judge Orders

Bruce Haring
·1 min read

The BBC must release a large number of emails relating to Martin Bashir’s infamous 1995 interview with Princess Diana.

A report in Sky News said the emails in question are from a period in 2020 when the broadcaster was battling the scandal around the interview.

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They were initially requested via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Andrew Webb, a journalist and filmmaker.

The BBC has been “inconsistent, erroneous, and unreliable” said Judge Brian Kennedy in ordering the email release.

A BBC spokesperson said it “fully accepted” that “mistakes have been made in this case in the past. We are currently considering the tribunal’s decision carefully and it would not be appropriate to comment whilst the legal proceedings are ongoing.”

Webb said that the BBC failed to release more than 3,000 emails related to its handling of the scandal in 2020.

Bashir’s interview, which once captivated the world with Diana’s revelation that “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” has since lost its luster. Bashir has been accused of using false documents and gossip about the royals to win Diana’s trust.

In 2021, an independent inquiry found the BBC covered up “deceitful behavior” by Bashir.

Bashir left the BBC in 1999, but returned to it in 2016 as its religious affairs editor. He left that job in 2021.

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