Mr Witchell, 67, is said to have been ‘deeply disturbed’ by claims Mr Bashir allegedly spun an outlandish web of deceit to win Diana’s trust
Veteran BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell will appear before an inquiry into whether Martin Bashir conned Princess Diana into their notorious 1995 interview having been ‘deeply disturbed’ by the alleged dirty tactics, it was claimed today.
The corporation’s new director-general Tim Davie has promised to ‘get to the truth’ behind Diana’s Panorama interview following sensational claims about how journalist Mr Bashir secured the Princess of Wales’s trust, including by faking two bank statements.
Mr Witchell, 67, who worked on Panorama in the 1990s, and several other senior BBC staff are said to have been ‘deeply disturbed’ by claims Mr Bashir allegedly spun an outlandish web of deceit to win Diana’s trust – and secure the bombshell interview.
The BBC’s current royal correspondent had even arranged to meet Diana to discuss a TV interview about the changing role of the monarchy and how her children William and Harry would fit in.
The plan was ‘put on ice’ when Mr Witchell was sent away on assignment and promoted diplomatic correspondent – but it was handed to Mr Bashir who is alleged to have used unscrupulous tactics to secure the interview.
Mr Witchell is said to have been ‘furious’ when Mr Bashir’s alleged deceit emerged, and is now set to give evidence to the inquiry into it, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Diana, Princess of Wales, during her world exclusive Panorama interview with Martin Bashir for the BBC, November 20 1995
Michael Jackson was lured into his disastrous interview with Martin Bashir because he thought ‘if Princess Diana trusted him, [he] could too’, it was claimed yesterday.
The pop star’s lawyer said Jackson would never have done the documentary with Bashir unless he believed it would be ‘positive’.
The journalist was seen returning home this month carrying an Indian takeaway and wine. Mr Bashir, 57, the BBC’s religious affairs editor, has not responded to requests for comment.
The 2003 expose turned into a public relations disaster for the troubled singer and culminated in him facing child molestation charges in 2005.
Tom Mesereau, who successfully defended the musician at the trial, claimed Jackson – who died in 2009 – had told him the journalist promised to portray him positively like the famous Diana interview.
From his office in Los Angeles, Mr Mesereau told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘I have always been troubled by how Mr Bashir managed to get into Michael Jackson’s graces and gain his trust. He thought if Princess Diana trusted him, Michael could too. Michael told me he was led to believe this would be a very positive interview, and he trusted Mr Bashir to follow through [with this] but he was greatly disappointed.’
The British journalist spent eight months with the Thriller star before making the ITV documentary ‘Living with Michael Jackson,’ in which the entertainer admitted sharing his bed with children.
Bashir and former BBC chiefs are now facing an inquiry into a string of lies and smears he fed Diana to obtain his 1995 exclusive interview with her.
Yesterday former director-general Lord Hall welcomed his successor Tim Davie’s decision to commission the ‘robust and independent’ investigation.
Lord Hall was head of news when Diana gave her interview, and he presided over an inquiry at the time that was dubbed a ‘whitewash’.
In February 1996 Bashir was feted at the Royal Television Society’s annual journalism awards ceremony for the interview that made headlines around the world
But he told the Sunday Times he was ‘pleased’ allegations Bashir used dishonest methods would be investigated, adding: ‘I want these things to be looked at.’ There is also a growing clamour for a police investigation, after the BBC acknowledged Bashir had shown ‘mocked up’ bank statements to Earl Spencer when trying to persuade him to introduce him to his sister Diana.
Former police officers including Dai Davies, ex head of royal protection, say Scotland Yard should run the new probe. And Peter Bleksley, a founder member of Scotland Yard’s undercover unit, backed the idea yesterday, saying: ‘They have to establish criminal intent. Was there an intention to trick someone or persuade someone to do something because of these documents?
Earl Spencer is absolutely crucial to any criminal inquiry because he may be the person who was coerced into doing something. There would have to be some kind of financial advantage proven.’
The innocent graphics designer who unwittingly helped Bashir create the phoney bank statements – and was fired while Bashir collected awards – believes the BBC journalist’s historic interview helped set her on a fateful path culminating in her death.
At her funeral, Matt Wiessler stood in The Mall. He said: ‘I felt like I needed to pay my respects because somehow I contributed.’
BBC veteran Jonathan Dimbleby, one of the targets of Bashir’s smears, welcomed the inquiry yesterday, describing the Panorama affair as ‘the bizarre and awful story of Martin Bashir’s insinuating himself into the confidence of a troubled woman’. He said getting an interview ‘should never involve deception and lies’.
Mr Bashir, 57, the BBC’s religious affairs editor, has not responded to requests for comment.