BBC Martin Bashir - Diana shocked.

[justasking111]

The more that comes out about the panorama interview and the way things were invented/forged. Bank statements, telephone records, stories about the family to encourage Diana to talk to Bashir. I just cannot believe what is emerging from this, things that would have influenced me if I had been Diana and no-one verified it independently.

True! I suppose without being there it’s hard to know for sure.

I listened to Prince William's statement, and fail to see that he "slagged off' his mother, Diana.
I thought his statement considered and he blamed the media for making his mother distrustful of everyone, including those she should have trusted. This led her to make bad decisions.

Well I'm not going to get into a ridiculous back and forth over whether she should have spotted the drunk driver. Diana was used to being chauffeur driven. Do we expect that every journey she took, driven by a chauffeur or one of her security officers, that anyone who uses the services of a chauffeur (lets extrapolate that to taxi drivers shall we?) should make sure they're not drunk first?

I could criticise Diana for many things but I think it's pretty ridiculous to blame her for that one.

Agree milveycrohn

@Supersimkin2

The BBC behaved far worse than the Sun ever could. They faked and faked and faked documents and allegations for months and months to trick Diana into talking.

The Sun's phone hacking scandal has nothing on BBC behaviour - that's about revealing the truth celebs don't want you to hear, not creating systematic forgeries and false narratives to frighten and deceive a lone woman.

Are you sure? I thought the sun hacking scandal included Milly Dowler's phone.

I think the blame lies solely with the drunk driver, can't blame a deceased person for not asking the driver if he was drunk.

@milveycrohn

I listened to Prince William's statement, and fail to see that he "slagged off' his mother, Diana. I thought his statement considered and he blamed the media for making his mother distrustful of everyone, including those she should have trusted. This led her to make bad decisions.

I didn't think he was slagging her off either. He essentially said that he thought her last years were worse as a result of the lies and the interview. He describes it as contributing to her paranoia and isolation, which seems pretty reasonable given the lies she was told made her distrust people who hadn't done what they were accused of.

PW unfortunately knew an awful lot about his DM’s state of mind in those days, as she shared far too much. He also suffered as a result of that interview. I think he has a right to his opinion.

@Nowhereelsetogo90

While she wasn’t academically intelligent, Diana was well known for her ability to read and manipulate others. I think she’s a prime example of someone who has become sanctified in death - while she was clearly a good Mum and loved her children, she was also very keen to blame other people for her problems and it’s well documented that she used the press to her own ends when it suited her. I think the BBC and Bashir have acted horribly but it doesn’t mean Diana should be devoid of any personal agency because she didn’t have her O-Levels.

Yes, one to one. I think the big games of deceit & politics were too much for her.

I'm a former journalist, for a reputable news organisation on a par with the BBC.

I don't know any colleagues who would have used the tactics Bashir did. It was absolutely reprehensible. And the fact that he was working for the BBC at the time, which we should expect to uphold the highest standards in journalism in the world, and that they then conspired in the cover up, makes it even worse.

It's absolutely NOT a witch hunt against Bashir. His behaviour was appalling and he deserves to be called out.

@Port1aCastis

I think the blame lies solely with the drunk driver, can't blame a deceased person for not asking the driver if he was drunk.

The blame for the fraud doesn’t lie with the drunk driver. Diana spent her last two years convinced everyone was plotting against her. Completely innocent employees were cold-shouldered and denigrated because of the faked bank statements. Tiggy LB was extremely upset by the abortion allegation and took legal action against Diana, which made Diana look worse. The (completely innocent) and whistleblowing graphic designer was blacklisted by the BBC by the cover up. And on and on.

What Bashir did was far from victimless.

But Diana didn't wear a seat belt
Exactly.

The security chap she had was employed by Al Fayed. It's not the BBC's fault that Al Fayed employed rubbish security.

I think this is just the RF gunning for the Beeb. They've been on the defensive about bad press since the Prince Edward and Meghan and Harry affairs, and now they're going on the offensive to deflect attention.

Bashir/the BBC had a note from Diana stating that the bank statements etc played no part in her deciding to do the interview. Are we to dismiss/disbelieve her? And is that not offensive?

I agree with Iamthewombat about William and Harry.
Much easier to ascribe Diana’s mental health problems to the interview she happily participated in than to blame their father, for embarking on an ill-advised marriage, or the Queen for encouraging it, or the dear old queen mum and her best mate, Diana’s grandma, for cooking up the idea. Or Diana’s parents for splitting up when she was a child. Or Diana herself for surrounding herself with phonies like the awful Paul Burrell and fortune tellers, and knowingly putting herself into situations that she knew would draw attention.

All of this. Diana was vulnerable and had a shocking childhood and a terrible adult life in many ways, yes. She was also though intelligent and capable, and perfectly able to manipulate her press.

Sorry if I missed it, but when did Harry “slag off” Charles and what did William really say about his mum? I feel like there are some posters who are reading too much into other people’s words.

Also, regarding the interview with Bashir and Diana, the run up to the interview might have been a lengthy process of manipulation as interviews do not take place overnight with doctored documents shown moments before an interview. To show Diana these documents which prompted her to be even more open than she perhaps planned to be, this conversation would have taken place a lot earlier before the interview. The idea to manipulate a vulnerable person, regardless of her age, that took some planning. Besides, she was still young especially when you’ve lived such a sheltered life with a dysfunctional upbringing, having been married at what, 19? How much of the world did she really experience? She could have gone from being incredibly trusting to not be able to trust many people at all. Not having a safe place to go, being manipulated by those around you. Fair enough some people may argue that she might have also manipulated things somewhat, but this doesn’t mean that there weren’t people there who preyed on her vulnerability.

William being his mother’s confidante, he would have seen Diana’s mental health unravel and how she was behaving after having found out that people she trusted were apparently lying to her. He was still very young, but he must have known that his mother was behaving really differently and now he knows that her trust issues were used against her. I can’t imagine how must be feeling.

We are all complex beings, he might have had some kind of resentment towards his father (wasn’t there a time when William was criticized when Harry was the one who was praising Charles?). But having grown up and becoming a father himself, he might be able to have a more nuanced view of things.

@Tulipomania

I'm a former journalist, for a reputable news organisation on a par with the BBC.

I don't know any colleagues who would have used the tactics Bashir did. It was absolutely reprehensible. And the fact that he was working for the BBC at the time, which we should expect to uphold the highest standards in journalism in the world, and that they then conspired in the cover up, makes it even worse.

It's absolutely NOT a witch hunt against Bashir. His behaviour was appalling and he deserves to be called out.

This. Also the other BBC employees who were complicit in the whole thing. From what I can gather they’ve all moved on to highly paid positions - I wonder if any of them will face any consequences.

It's absolutely NOT a witch hunt against Bashir. His behaviour was appalling and he deserves to be called out.

It’s possible to censure somebody for bad behaviour without launching a witch hunt. That isn’t what has happened here.

(The phrase ‘called out’ is a bit Real Housewives of Cheshire for me, sorry).

Here is the OED definition of a witch hunt:

A campaign directed against a person or group holding views considered unorthodox or a threat to society. 'he claimed he was the victim of a media witch-hunt'

It looks very much like this from where I am standing: one individual being held liable for every sin, real and perceived, of ‘the media’ since the invention of the printing press. People on here calling him a disgrace, a slimeball, scum etc. It’s creepy. I’m not here to defend his actions but the reaction is disproportionate.

Interesting that some of the most vocal groups have most to gain by shifting all the blame to one person, isn’t it? The royal family would like to censor unflattering reports about them. Other people working in journalism finger wagging and tut tutting (including, disappointingly, Jeremy Vine on R2 today). Diana’s sacked press secretary expressing theatrical horror at Bashir’s actions, which he claims ‘ended his career’. We’d never behave like that, honest. No, not us. Not like that dreadful villain Martin Bashir, the rotten apple poisoning the BBC and contriving to kill princesses.

The whole thing is awful.

From an outsider's POV almost incomprehensible that Diana would be taken in by what she was told.

I can't quite understand her brother's part in this.

That he realised it was lies & advised Diana against the interview but no more?

The parallels with what Harry is now coming out with & the determination to put across their side of the story-no matter what!

I think it’s fair to say at this point though that Bashir is being made a scape goat, even if he was instrumental in the deception.

There is absolutely no way he did this in isolation and that his superiors, the producers, etc didn’t know what he had done. But he’s now ill and has left and it’s convenient to blame him and only him.

There is absolutely no way he did this in isolation and that his superiors, the producers, etc didn’t know what he had done. But he’s now ill and has left and it’s convenient to blame him and only him

From what I’ve read quite a few BBC employees have also been censured and blamed.

Bashir told some brass neck lies (Edward has Aids, Queen's a comfort eater). Have to say that Charles Spencer was a little gullible.

Anyway. It was despicable behaviour and played on the fears of a woman whose mental health struggles had been horribly public for years. However, there were many reasons for the end of her marriage and her overall outlook on life and some parts of the "Firm" and the outraged national press should probably take a hard look at themselves in the mirror.

Imho Suzanne Moore NAILS IT here

suzannemoore.substack.com/p/diana-defund-the-monarchy?r=cldek&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=twitter

Diana had well documented mental health issues she also stated the royal family got her therapy for those issues she was an easy target already distrustful and distressed they took advantage of her

[quote colouringindoors]Imho Suzanne Moore NAILS IT here

suzannemoore.substack.com/p/diana-defund-the-monarchy?r=cldek&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=twitter[/quote]
That article does absolutely nail it @colouringindoors.

Re writing history to suit the next in line .

The whole royal family spectacle needs to come to an end, it has no place in modern society

Who wouldnt have issues with their husband carrying on a long term affair with somebody he was in a relationship with before. Why didn't the Queen step in and remind him about his marriage vows.

She is not innocent she was having affairs too 🤦‍♀️

Only when she realised her marriage was a sham and Camilla wasnt going anywhere. I wonder if Harry will ever comment on this elephant in the room during his tell alls.