Princess Diana’s Panorama Interview May Cost BBC $4.5 Billion And More Over Damage [REPORT]
Princess Diana's Panorama interview with Martin Bashir has damaged the reputation of BBC as a world-leading broadcaster.
According to The Times, BBC may lose about $4.5 billion if their license fees are cut because of the Panorama probe that tarnished the broadcaster's reputation.
The Government is in negotiations with BBC over the next five years of the fee, which normally raises $4.5 billion for the broadcaster.
A source told the outlet, "At a time when every government department is being asked to tighten their belt, there's an argument the corporation should do so too."
They added that BBC tarnished its reputation and this may likely influence the current negotiation fees.
BBC could be forced to appoint a new editorial board that's going to be dealing with complaints amid the Princess Diana Panorama interview with Martin Bashir scandal.
Moreover, BBC is also facing some serious questions over rehiring Bashir in a prominent role after an internal investigation into his interview with the late Princess of Wales.
Julian Knight MP, the chairperson of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said he will write to director-general Tim Davie to ask why Bashir was re-employed in BBC in 2016 despite what Lord Dyson's report early this week concluded that there was a "serious breach" of editorial rules covered up.
Knight said, "I want to know how the BBC can reassure the committee that there could be no repeat of the serious failings that have been highlighted by the Dyson report."
Earlier, James Harding, former director of BBC News, apologized for rehiring Bashir. The reason for the re-employment was because it had made things "more difficult for everyone," he claimed.
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Princess Diana Panorama Interview Controversy
Martin Bashir used deceit to be able to have a sit-down interview with Princess Diana in 1995 where she disclosed intimate details of her failed marriage to the future king, Prince Charles.
In an inquiry found on Thursday, it was revealed that the broadcaster covered up the deception.
According to former senior judge John Dyson who led the BBC investigation, Martin Bashir, who was a little-known reporter at the time, shown Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, fake bank statements suggesting that she was being bugged by security services and that two of her senior aides were being paid by the royal family to provide intel about her.
The report said, "Mr. Bashir acted inappropriately and in serious breach of the 1993 edition of the Producers' Guidelines on straight dealing."
Charles Spencer said he drew a line between his sister's death and the events, saying, "She didn't know who to trust and in the end when she died, two years later, she was without any form of real protection."
Meanwhile, Princess Diana's sons have condemned the BBC over the Panorama interview.
Prince William and Prince Harry said that the corporation's failures contributed to their mom's fear she felt in the final years of her life.
It also was a part of a culture of "exploitation and unethical practices that ultimately took her life."
