If a tabloid hack was accused of duping Princess Diana, the BBC would be screaming for blood

CAN you imagine the fuss if it had been a tabloid journalist who was accused of duping Princess Diana into thinking even her own child was spying on her?

Be in no doubt that the story would be heading BBC news bulletins across the board, with left-leaning guest commentators screaming for heads to roll.

Yet, as the “villain” of the piece was operating under the auspices of that revered institution Auntie Beeb, the response beyond certain “populist” newspapers has been notably muted.

What utter, unashamed hypocrisy.

“Nothing to see here,” is the general tone from certain pundits.

They point out Diana’s brother Charles Spencer, who became Earl Spencer in 1992, first made a complaint about Martin Bashir’s alleged use of fake bank statements in 1996 — the year after his sister’s famous Panorama interview aired.

But they are missing the point. What’s new is that Earl Spencer has accused the BBC of an institutional cover-up after its internal, 1996 “investigation” which is now being viewed as a backside-covering whitewash.

'VERY DARK CLOUD'

Former BBC chairman Lord Grade said this week: “There is a very dark cloud hanging over BBC journalism.”

There is indeed.

And for the majority of BBC journalists who are scrupulously factual and above board, it must be deeply infuriating to only now be learning the full extent of the alleged con job that is claimed to have won Bashir, and the channel, numerous awards.

The shameful details are writ large in the detailed notes Earl Spencer took at the time and has recently disclosed to back up his demand for a new and, crucially, independent inquiry.

He claims that not only did Bashir produce fake bank documents to make him and Diana believe, wrongly, that certain senior staff had been selling stories to The Sun and the now defunct News of the World — but that the BBC man also made damning, false accusations about Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Prince Edward, various senior royal courtiers and even the Queen.

But perhaps the most pernicious charge of all, for a woman already close to the edge, was the claim that not only were some of Diana’s closest friends selling stories on her, but that Prince William was unwittingly wearing a special watch given to him by his father as a spying device.

Earl Spencer says he knew the latter claim was ludicrous and decided Bashir was “clearly lying”, but such was Diana’s feeling of disenfranchisement at this time, she secretly went ahead with the interview anyway.

Diana’s close friend, Rosa Monckton, wrote yesterday: “For the BBC, our national broadcasting corporation, to behave in this devious and underhand way is just as bad as any of the hunting pack of paparazzi.”

So all credit to the BBC’s new Director-General Tim Davie, who only started in September but has pledged a “robust” and “independent” investigation to “get to the truth”.

It is long overdue.

ONE BAD APPLE

Bashir, who has not yet commented because he is recovering from a heart op and Covid — though it did not seem to stop him popping out for a takeaway on Friday evening — may explain or turn out to be a single, rogue operator who pulled the wool over his then bosses’ eyes.

Or he may turn out to have been aided and abetted by others.

Only time, and that “robust” investigation, will tell.

But meanwhile, it is a reminder that the behaviour of one bad apple, or even a few, does not define everyone else who works in that field — a thought that those aforementioned, left-leaning commentators could perhaps keep in mind the next time they are spitting bile about “the tabloids”.

And on that note, I would like to trumpet-blow a section of radio host Paul Gambaccini’s statement issued last week after his seven-year struggle for justice from the Met police over the false allegations that nearly ruined his life and that of others such as Sir Cliff Richard.

Paul wrote: “When the BBC abandoned us, several print journalists saved us.

"They took our cause to the Government and people of the United Kingdom . . . I will be grateful to them for the rest of my life.”

I’m proud to say that yours truly was one of those he named.

Palace is out of line on Harry

AS an ambassador for Help for Heroes, my time spent with both former and current Armed Forces personnel tells me they won’t hear a bad word against Prince Harry.

They adore him. And he adores them.