BBC apologizes to Princess Diana aide over interview deceit, pays 'substantial' damages
LONDON — The BBC said Thursday that it has apologized and paid a "substantial" sum to the late Princess Diana's former private secretary over subterfuge used to get an explosive television interview with the late royal.
The United Kingdom's national broadcaster said it acknowledged that "serious harm" was caused to Patrick Jephson by the circumstances in which the 1995 interview, conducted by BBC journalist Martin Bashir, was obtained.
"The BBC apologises unreservedly to Commander Jephson for the harm caused to him and has paid his legal costs," it said in a statement. "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."
The 1995 "Panorama" interview, in which the Princess of Wales discussed the breakdown of her relationship with Prince Charles — famously saying "There were three of us in this marriage" in reference to Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles — was watched by 23 million people in Britain and sent shockwaves through the monarchy.
A report last year by a retired senior judge found Bashir used "deceitful behavior" to get the interview, including showing Diana's brother fake bank statements that falsely suggested members of Diana's inner circle were being paid to spy on her. Judge John Dyson said the BBC obscured Bashir's misconduct for decades.
After the report was made public, Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, issued rare statements blistering the BBC for "a culture of exploitation and unethical practices" that contributed to Diana's "fear, paranoia and isolation" and allowed a "rogue reporter" to trick her into doing the interview.
Jephson said that "after more than 25 years, it is a relief finally to reach a conclusion to this painful episode."
He said he would donate his settlement to a children's hospice in Diana's memory.
Diana and Charles divorced in 1996. She died in a Paris car crash in 1997 as the car she was in was being pursued by paparazzi and the drunk driver crashed into a pillar in a traffic tunnel.
Charles, the future king, married Camilla, now the Duchess of Cornwall, in 2005. She did not take the Princess of Wales title out of respect for Diana. But she will be Queen Consort Camilla when Charles takes the throne, after Queen Elizabeth II made her wishes known last month.
Diana's brother, Charles, Earl Spencer, tweeted that it was "appalling what Patrick Jephson had to go through as a result of grotesque 'journalism'" and said the issue had been "covered up for so long by senior people" at the BBC.
Charles Spencer has been a driving force in the campaign to force the BBC to agree to a public inquiry of Bashir's methods in connection with the Diana interview, adding further fuel to dissatisfaction in the Conservative government about the alleged bias in BBC newsgathering.
Like many private secretaries for royals, Jephson was a former military officer, a commander in the Royal Navy; he had worked for Diana and Charles for eight years.
He resigned from Diana's staff in 1996 after the interview, saying their parting was "amicable" and denying media reports that he quit because she had failed to inform him before doing the interview.
In 2000, he published a memoir about his years with Diana, "Shadows of a Princess," which itself was controversial for its revelations about his former boss. He described Diana as a woman who felt rejected by the "cold' royal family, which led to unstable behavior such as firing staff members on short notice, lying, scheming and stunts to draw attention to herself.
Still, she was more sinned against than sinning, he wrote.
"For all the squandered chances, the self-indulgence, the stupidity and the occasional downright wickedness, there was something heroic about her, just as there was something essentially brutal and intolerant about those gathered against her," he wrote.
"Being content was not a natural state for her. Given the chance, she always preferred to plot and maneuver."
Contributing: Maria Puente, Paste BN