Martin Bashir???

[CuriousaboutSamphire]

What the hell?!?!?!?!

@Hayeahnobut

I agree with Ponoka7, Bashir knew she was vulnerable so created a fiction about people being paid to spy on her, and then jumped in as her new best friend, 'you ignore the baddies, I'll make sure the world knows your truth'. But it wasn't her truth, she was being fed lies from every direction and wouldn't have known what was true or not.

Targeting and manipulating a vulnerable woman, for the sole purpose of furthering your own career, is beyond despicable.

he knows deep down this was despicable - hence the silence.

[quote FangsForTheMemory]@PleasantVille I’m 59 and remember the Diana years very clearly but I wouldn’t describe myself as having lived through them with her.
I think anyone who STILL pays attention to all the rumours and gossip really needs to find a new interest in life.[/quote]
I am far from being interested in any of them as individuals, far from being a Royalst! But if you think this is gossip and rumours you have missed the point!

@PleasantVille

There was quite a long documentary about it on last week. For those of us around the same age as Diana who lived every minute of those years with her it's interesting new information that caused her to make some (with hindsight) horrible decisions. For the young probably not so much.

Yes

@4ds02719

chasing him now when he's seriously ill seems pretty low.

He was photographed getting a take away the other night...

I saw that! Didn't appear that ill to me. not for a quadruple bypass recovery patient...

@GroundAlmonds thank you that’s really helpful. Other posters have suggested blackmail though, doesn’t sound like she was blackmailed just made to feel paranoid and wanting to speak out?

Yes, exactly. Frightened, isolated and desperate.

I think anyone who STILL pays attention to all the rumours and gossip really needs to find a new interest in life.

You are completely missing the point. Bashir was a BBC journalist. That interview was what prompted the Queen to order a divorce.

It’s the British Public broadcaster perpetrating a deliberate fraud on a British Royal that resulted in the heir to the throne divorcing. This is huge. The TV licence might be abolished before this is all over.

@userxx

I saw a clip on the news I wasnt really paying attention ,? He's quite unwell with COVID as well isn't he ?

Didnt look that ill with his Indian takeaway and wine supply.

Quite a good recovery from both Covid and a quadruple bypass.

YW @CuriousaboutSamphire

This has undoubtedly come from the Royal Family ... (to) rehabilitate Charles before he takes the throne

So glad I'm not the only one who can see it ...

But why did her brother introduce her to anyone re an interview anyway?

What was the point of the interview I wonder?

To be able to divorce?

Surely Charles wanted a divorce by then anyway?

Does anyone else remember Tiggy suing Diana? I was only teenager at the time so can’t recall the details. It always did seem weird though, that Diana has suddenly got so poisonous and jealous of the nanny.

This explains that, too.

Reading the extent he went to I'm going to take back she was attention seeking. What an absolute scumbag

I don't really have any idea about ins and about or how ill or not people are or who's behind it all and what their purpose is but I do think it reflects badly on the BBC.

They employed Martin Bashir they apparently knew about forged documents at some point- clearly there should have been more control and oversight and their first enquiry looks dodgy to say the least.

The TV licence might be abolished before this is all over

I doubt it; why would any government give up a public broadcaster they can manipulate via the funding, for the sake of a woman long dead?

What was the point of the interview I wonder?

Look at the money and awards such a scoop brought the BBC, and I'd say you've got the answer

There have been 2 programmes on it recently, and I think another this week. I saw the forged bank statements on one of them....I wonder if MB got the graphic designer to mock up the statement with no details but arranged so that he himself could add the names/account holder/amounts etc.im not sure how else the graphic designer could have been unaware.
What were the discrepancies regarding the MJ documentary?

@diddl I don’t think the Spencer’s were the brightest. They were played.
Would love to know how much Bashir got paid for that interview.

Back in the day Bashir could do no wrong, it casts such a long shadow over all his interviews investigations not just Diana`s, you cannot tell me the BBC did not run a critical eye over his work, higher ups gave him the nod each time.

Quite a good recovery from both Covid and a quadruple bypass.

Nothing quite like a fat laden curry after a quadruple bypass ;)

But why did her brother introduce her to anyone re an interview anyway?

What was the point of the interview I wonder?

The gist was that Bashir represented it to Earl Spencer as ‘I have been investigating x & y and I have found this deeply sinister attempt to spy on your sister’, to which Spencer reacted by making the introduction.

Are they saying that they showed Earl S. false bank statements to gain his trust, were those investigated and shown to the police or the security services and protection people to see if they were genuine or did they just take them at face value? that's what I don't understand.

I doubt it; why would any government give up a public broadcaster they can manipulate via the funding, for the sake of a woman long dead?

They have issues with the BBC - over 70s funding is a current one. I think this is yet another blow to the BBC's reputation.

As TV subscription services get more common and you tube has more and more viewers - it's certainly possible the funding model may need to adjust.

Oh so what.

Journalists use dishonest means to get their stories. Is that news?

Bashir is now a scapegoat.

doubt it; why would any government give up a public broadcaster they can manipulate via the funding, for the sake of a woman long dead?

It wouldn’t be for her sake. She is the mcguffin in her own story here. Her brother is the only character in this business who is concerned for her reputation.

There are plenty of high ups who would love an excuse to ditch the BBC. Maybe not enough. It will be interesting to watch though.

Back in the day Bashir could do no wrong

I'm sure I saw on the programme a couple of weeks ago that he was pretty junior at the bbc and a surprising choice. And then became famous from it. The story in that programme was that she didnt want a big name interviewer.

@Fizbosshoes He was the man who killed MJ, according to some! That and he was threatened with contempt of court for refusing to answer questions by MJs team and to hand over unused footage of their interviews!

Journalists use dishonest means to get their stories. Is that news? That's the point. It damn well should be!

FFS!