Martin Bashir poisoned Princess Diana's mind with fabricated stories of betrayal and conspiracy, according to Dominic Lawson, whose wife Rosa Monckton was one of the Princess's closest friends. In autumn 1995, Diana became increasingly obsessed with the idea that people in royal circles were betraying her, even changing her landline at Kensington Palace because she believed it was bugged.
Lawson writes in the Daily Mail that Bashir, then a Panorama reporter, used false claims from supposed 'intelligence sources' to win Diana's trust. These included the assertion that her son Prince William had a watch secretly recording their conversations. Bashir also named some of Diana's friends as among those 'betraying' her, which may explain why she never told them about her meetings with him or her plan to give the famous 1995 interview.
The BBC has said it intends to confront Bashir with notes taken by Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, detailing the reporter's behaviour. However, the corporation claims Bashir is 'seriously unwell' after a quadruple heart bypass and complications from Covid. Despite this, the 57-year-old, now the BBC's Religion Editor, was pictured out shopping this week.
Lawson criticises the BBC's initial 1995 investigation, which exonerated Bashir after it emerged he had commissioned fake bank statements to 'prove' his claims. The investigation, partly conducted by Tony Hall (later Lord Hall), banned the graphic designer involved but allowed Bashir to continue as a star reporter.
