Earl Spencer accuses BBC of making 'outrageous' claim about him

By Hannah Furness

Earl Spencer has accused the BBC of making an "utterly outrageous" claim in its coverage of Diana, Princess of Wales's Panorama interview.

The Earl, who is the brother of the late Princess, is said to have been "infuriated" by an inaccurate BBC News report about the Martin Bashir scandal, which claimed he waited 25 years to reveal "the truth".

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He has recently praised a new book about the interview, called Dianarama: The Betrayal of Princess Diana, which details the lengths to which Bashir went to secure the landmark interview with his sister in 1995.

A story on the BBC News website this week said the Earl had "waited 25 years before revealing the truth".

However, he is in fact known to have written to the corporation in 2005, raising concerns about the conduct of Panorama staff, in a letter addressed to Mark Thompson, the then director-general.

The Sunday Times has now published a new complaint sent to the BBC by Andy Webb, the author of Dianarama.

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It states: "Earl Spencer has confirmed that he shares my sense of astonishment at the BBC's actions … and formally associates himself with my complaint to you …

"Your allegation that Earl Spencer 'waited 25 years before revealing the truth' is utterly outrageous."

The story in question, which lists "five claims made in new book about Princess Diana's Panorama interview", states that there had been "a 25-year wait for the truth".

It reports a claim in Mr Webb's book that the Earl had not initially spoken out because of concerns that taking action would "paint his sister as a gullible fool".

In fact, Earl Spencer wrote to Mr Thompson, then the BBC director-general, in 2005 after he was approached to take part in a documentary about the programme called The Princess and Panorama.

Then, he wrote: "Based on the documents I have at Althorp [his home] – including notes I took at the time in my own hand – which prove Panorama's role in this matter to have been less than honest, I must register my astonishment that the BBC wishes to revisit this moment in its fine journalistic history."

Mr Thompson has said he did not see the letter, which was released under a freedom of information request in 2022.

'Bashir told agonising lies'

The original interview made headlines around the world, with 23 million people watching as Diana said: "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

It has since been widely discredited, with Bashir said to have forged documents to convince Lord Spencer that his sister was being betrayed by those close to her.

Earl Spencer has since spoken about the "appalling, deceitful conduct of those pursuing the interview", and the "agonising lies" Bashir told Diana.

After details of the deception emerged in 2021, Prince William issued his own statement describing his "indescribable sadness to know that the BBC's failures contributed significantly to [Diana's] fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her".

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He added: "But what saddens me most, is that if the BBC had properly investigated the complaints and concerns first raised in 1995, my mother would have known that she had been deceived.

"It is my firm view that this Panorama programme holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again.

"It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialised by the BBC and others."

'Seriously bad people at BBC to be held to account'

Earl Spencer has called Mr Webb's new book "extremely well researched and compelling" and said it "will hopefully cause some seriously bad people at the BBC to be held to account – not just those who did terrible things 30 years ago, but also the ones who have busily covered it up since".

A BBC insider told the Sunday Times that the false claim was "a mistake, not a conspiracy", with the complaint "looked at very quickly".

The BBC has amended the article, and included an explanation at the bottom:

It reads: "This article has been amended to remove a suggestion that Earl Spencer waited 25 years before revealing the truth and to give additional context around communications he had with the BBC in 2005."

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2025

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