BBC pays Princess Diana’s private secretary Patrick Jephson ‘substantial’ damages
BBC pays Princess Diana’s private secretary Patrick Jephson ‘substantial’ damages and offers an ‘unreserved’ apology for the way Martin Bashir secured controversial 1995 Panorama interview
The BBC apologised ‘unreservedly’ to Patrick Jephson for Martin Bashir’s actionsIt ‘accepts and acknowledges that serious harm’ was caused to Diana’s ex-stafferMr Jephson said it’s ‘a relief’ to ‘finally reach a conclusion to this painful episode’It comes after Dyson Inquiry found BBC covered up Bashir’s ‘deceitful behaviour’
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The BBC has paid Princess Diana’s former private secretary ‘substantial’ damages over the way disgraced Martin Bashir obtained his 1995 Panorama interview.
The Corporation also apologised ‘unreservedly’ to Patrick Jephson today over the way its journalist got the blockbuster chat 27 years ago.
It said it ‘accepts and acknowledges that serious harm’ was caused to him but refused to disclose how much it has forked out.
Meanwhile Mr Jephson said it was ‘a relief’ to ‘finally to reach a conclusion to this painful episode’ and added he will donate the money to a children’s hospice.
It is the latest embarrassment at the Beeb over the Bashir affair, following the Dyson Inquiry last year which found bosses covered up his ‘deceitful behaviour’.
The BBC has paid Princess Diana’s former private secretary ‘substantial’ damages over the way disgraced Martin Bashir obtained his 1995 Panorama interview (pictured)
The Corporation also apologised ‘unreservedly’ to Patrick Jephson (pictured with Diana in 1995) today over the way its journalist got the blockbuster sit down 27 years ago
A BBC spokesman said it ‘accepts and acknowledges that serious harm’ was caused to Mr Jephson (left) by the Bashir’s (right) talk
A BBC statement said: ‘The BBC and Commander Patrick Jephson have reached a settlement following publication of the Dyson Report.
‘Commander Jephson was the Private Secretary to Diana, Princess of Wales.
‘The BBC accepts and acknowledges that serious harm was caused to Commander Jephson as a result of the circumstances in which the 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales was obtained, which have become apparent as a result of the Dyson Report.
‘The BBC apologises unreservedly to Commander Jephson for the harm caused to him and has paid his legal costs.
‘The BBC has also paid Commander Jephson a substantial sum in damages, which he intends to donate in full to British charities nominated by him.’
Mr Jephson said: ‘After more than twenty-five years, it is a relief finally to reach a conclusion to this painful episode.
‘I am grateful to Lord Dyson and the journalists whose tenacity has brought the truth to light, and I now look forward to donating the damages I have been awarded to Ty Hafan, the hospice for children in Wales, in memory of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.’
An inquiry by Lord Dyson in May found Bashir (pictured) had lied to obtain the interview, using ‘deceitful’ methods later covered up by a ‘woefully ineffective’ internal investigation by Tony Hall, who later became BBC director-general
Bashir (left) faked bank statements to get to Diana while the BBC’s former director-general, Lord Hall of Birkenhead (right), has been accused of protecting him following his famous 1995 interview
The BBC was plunged into one of the worst crises in its history by the explosive fallout from the scandal, with Princes William and Harry accusing the corporation of ruining their mother’s life with its ‘deceitful’ exclusive. Pictured: Diana with her sons
Mr Jephson was Diana’s private secretary for eight years and was also the Princess’s equerry.
He stuck with her from 1988 to 1996 and was responsible for every aspect of her public life and humanitarian initiatives.
The Cambridge-educated Irishman was at the helm during her controversial split from Prince Charles as well as when she was most popular with the public.
He is now a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and author, who is advising the Netflix series The Crown from his home in Washington DC.
The Dyson Inquiry found the BBC ‘fell short of high standards of integrity and transparency’ over its handling of Bashir.
Meanwhile the journalist was found to be in ‘serious breach’ of the BBC’s producer guidelines when he faked bank statements and showed them to Earl Spencer.
Diana’s brother and Prince Charles’s ex-Private Secretary Richard Aylard were also named in the report but it is not clear if they have launched launched legal action.
According to a friend, Diana’s brother Earl Spencer claimed several crimes had been committed.
He believed his vulnerable sister was spun a web of lies by Bashir who had established ‘coercive control’ over her.
By filling her mind with terrifying conspiracy theories and tricking her into the interview, he claims the rogue BBC reporter and his superiors had committed blackmail, fraud and obtaining property by deception.
He said the Corporation had cashed in when rights to the sensational interview were sold to other broadcasters around the world.
Bashir commissioned forged bank statements in flagrant breach of BBC rules to convince Earl Spencer to introduce him to Diana, Lord Dyson concluded in his excoriating inquiry.
Bashir commissioned forged bank statements (pictured) in flagrant breach of BBC rules to convince Earl Spencer to introduce him to Diana, Lord Dyson concluded in his excoriating inquiry
The former religion editor admitted at the time to having the documents forged, but denied ever showing them to anybody.
Matt Wiessler, a graphic artist who said in 1996 Bashir had asked him to forge bank documents to help earn Diana’s trust, said his career was ruined after he spoke out and was blacklisted by the broadcaster.
Around two months after the BBC interview aired, Mr Wiessler said his house was broken into and CDs containing the forged documents stolen.
He also said work had dried up after the BBC blacklisted him, with documents released under freedom of information request backing up his account.
Bosses had issued an edict never to work with him, in part because he had spoken to the media about the documents.
Despite the fallout, it took until November 2020 for an inquiry to be established based on the Mail on Sunday’s reporting – culminating in the Dyson report.
The report slammed BBC bosses, including former director-general Tony Hall, for covering up information on how Bashir was able to secure the interview.
A 1996 internal inquiry into the interview was also slammed as ‘woefully ineffective’, forcing Tim Suter – another BBC boss who was part of the inquiry – to step down as chair of Ofcom.
Tony Hall left his job as head of the National Gallery, saying continuing in the role would be a ‘distraction’. Bashir, who was still working as the BBC’s religion editor, also quit the corporation in May, citing health issues.
‘Queen eats for comfort, Edward has AIDS, Camilla is depressed, Charles is in love with the Nanny’: How Earl Spencer’s scribbled notes from first meeting between Princess Diana and Martin Bashir became key evidence in Panorama probe
A jaw-dropping list of smears and lies allegedly peddled by Martin Bashir to clinch his sensational Princess Diana scoop was recorded by her brother – including the Queen ‘eating for comfort’ and Charles being in love with the family nanny.
Earl Spencer kept meticulous notes of a meeting held on September 19, 1995, when he introduced the BBC man to his sister at her Knightsbridge flat.
Earl Spencer’s records show that Bashir allegedly claimed that Diana’s private letters were being opened, her car tracked and phoned tapped with her bodyguard plotting against her, and close friends were betraying her.
Earl Spencer’s handwritten log of the meeting with Bashir at his sister’s flat in Knightsbridge also includes a note saying: ‘Camilla: depressed, but quiet for time being’.
In an execrable reference to Prince Edward, Spencer recorded Bashir as saying that the Queen’s youngest son was receiving treatment for Aids at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
Even the Queen was mentioned. Spencer noted Bashir as saying she was ‘very ill with heart problems’ and that she was a ‘comfort eater’.
Earl Spencer (left) kept detailed notes when he met Martin Bashir (seen right holding a Bafta award for his Diana interview) when he met the BBC journalist with Diana at his sister’s flat
Bashir is accused of effectively grooming the vulnerable princess by playing to her worst fears with a series of false claims
From officials bugging Diana’s car to warnings her reputation would be ‘destroyed’: Earl Spencer’s handwritten scraps that could shred Bashir’s career
1: Diana’s ‘scum’ former bodyguard
Bashir’s opening gambit that three MI6 agents had told him Prince Charles’s private secretary Richard Aylard was ‘orchestrating’ things surrounding Diana. This involved Ken Wharfe, Diana’s former bodyguard, described as ‘scum’.
Diana was already paranoid her staff and friends were betraying her and, at the meeting, the broadcaster allegedly brandished bank statements purportedly showing her closest aides were selling her secrets.
2: Charles’ secretary ‘paid by Jonathan Dimbleby’
Aylard, it was claimed, had been paid by the broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby. A decision to reinvent the prince had been taken by aides two years earlier. A year later this allegedly included attacking both Diana and the Spencer family.
3: Charles ‘discussing ”end game”’
The notes, handed to Lord Dyson, include allegations MI6 had recorded Prince Charles and his private secretary planning the ‘end game’ – an extraordinary and false hint the heir to the throne was plotting to ‘destroy’ the Spencers and force them to flee to the US.
Charles Spencer’s detailed notes, from one to five. The manila file contains notes of every meeting he had with Bashir, the logs of phone calls the BBC man made along with the faxes, the letters and even the gushing thank you cards that the reporter sent him
4: Spencers’ reputation ‘would be destroyed’
Spencers’ reputation to be destroyed. In another remark recorded by Earl Spencer, Bashir claimed Prince Charles wanted Spencer’s then wife, Victoria, dead. Diana meanwhile would be forced to move to America — possibly with her brother.
5: Will Carling affair claim
This relates to the stories during 1995 of the close friendship between Diana and the married England rugby captain Will Carling. Spencer notes Bashir’s assertion that the newspaper stories had been ‘fed’ by Carling’s wife Julia.
9: Diana’s car ‘bugged’
This note describes Bashir’s alleged claim that Diana had been bugged by officials
The claim that Diana’s cars and phone lines being bugged and her post intercepted would have increased her worries she was being spied on.
Bashir told Lord Dyson he would not have made these claims at a first meeting, the Telegraph reported.
17: Camilla ‘depressed’
Camilla was allegedly described by Bashir as ‘depressed, but quiet for the time being’. The second line refers to William and Harry’s nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke
In the interview, Diana made her feelings clear on Camilla, famously saying, ‘There are three of us in this marriage.’
Mentioning her could have been an attempt by Bashir to prompt her to speak out.
‘Tiggy’ is a reference to Tiggy Legge-Bourke, William and Harry’s nanny who Charles was accused of having an affair with in claims that were subsequently dismissed.
17b: Philip’s ‘v unpleasant correspondence’
Earl Spencer recorded Bashir as describing ‘very unpleasant correspondence’ allegedly sent by Prince Philip to Diana and Sarah Ferguson
This claims Diana had received ‘v unpleasant correspondence’ from Philip and suggests he was annoyed at her ‘hero status’.
It also references Edwina Mountbatten, the wife of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was known to have had affairs.
19: Fergie’s business deals in the US
Another reference to Sarah Ferguson, this time describing her trips to the US to try and forge a business career
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew divorced in 1996. This note refers to her numerous trips to the US to forge a business career.
It adds that Andrew still ‘look[ed] after her’ following their divorce by supporting her financially.
20: ‘Queen eats for comfort’
This note suggests the Queen was unwell, stating ‘Queen ill: heart’ and adds she ‘eats for comfort’.
