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Interview with Lady Di in 1995: the president of the National Gallery resigns

Tony Hall, who was managing the BBC’s editorial staff at the time of Lady Di’s resounding interview in 1995, resigned on Saturday May 22 as chairman of the London National Gallery after the publication of a report criticizing the internal investigation conducted on this interview. “I resigned today from my post as president of the National Gallery,” Tony Hall said in a statement, renewing his apologies for “the events of 25 years ago.”

A report published Thursday, nearly a quarter of a century after the famous interview in which Diana spoke about her failed marriage, denounced the “deceptive” methods employed by journalist Martin Bashir, now 58 years old. He had used false documents to convince Prince Charles’ wife to accept the interview, a huge scoop for the BBC. During this televised interview, Lady Di had said that there were “three people” in her marriage, in reference to the relationship that Charles had with Camilla Parker Bowles, and admitted to having an affair herself.

An internal investigation “well below” the required standards

In his report, former Supreme Court Justice John Dyson cheated the BBC for its handling of a case it has been dragging like a ball for years. Former managing director Tony Hall, who was managing editor at the time of the interview, apologized on Thursday, acknowledging that the 1996 internal investigation “fell well below” the standards required and that “more measures could and should have been taken following complaints about Martin Bashir’s attitude ”. He admitted to having been “wrong to give Martin Bashir the benefit of the doubt”.

On Saturday, Tony Hall announced that he was leaving his post at the National Gallery, which he had held since July 2020, because staying in this post “would distract from an institution that is close to my heart.” The report pointed out the responsibilities of the powerful British public broadcasting group, called on by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take “all possible measures to ensure that such a situation never happens again”.

Lady Di’s confidences had led to the divorce of Charles and Diana, who died less than two years later in Paris in a car accident while being chased by paparazzi.


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