Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick says the force could launch a criminal investigation into BBC journalist Martin Bashir’s interview with Princess Diana.
Ms Dick said the force has not yet received a complaint from anyone with any evidence for officers to examine.
But if such a complaint was to emerge, Scotland Yard would ‘assess whether any crime has been committed’.
Diana’s brother Earl Spencer has alleged Mr Bashir showed him fake financial documents and told untrue stories about the royal family to gain access to Diana.
The BBC has appointed Lord Dyson, a retired judge and former master of the rolls, to lead an investigation to discover what steps the BBC and Mr Bashir took to land the Panorama interview with Diana in 1995.
Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick says the force could launch a criminal investigation into BBC journalist Martin Bashir’s interview with Princess Diana (pictured)
The BBC has appointed Lord Dyson, a retired judge and former master of the rolls, to lead an investigation to discover what steps the BBC and Mr Bashir took to land the Panorama interview with Diana in 1995 (pictured during the interview)
Asked about a potential criminal investigation, Dame Cressida told reporters on Thursday: ‘We have not received a complaint from somebody who is giving us any evidence for us to assess.
‘So, if they were to, we would of course assess whether any crime has been committed or may appear to have been committed and, if so, whether it is appropriate for us to do an investigation.
‘But at this stage, we have not received any such complaints.’
The fake documents falsely suggested Diana’s then private secretary – and another royal household member – were being paid by the security services to spy on the princess, something that played on Diana’s fears about her safety and privacy.
Former BBC director-general Lord Hall led a 1996 internal BBC investigation into the circumstances surrounding Diana’s Panorama appearance, which sent shockwaves through the royal family with her revelations about the state of her marriage.
Ms Dick (left) said the force has not yet received a complaint from anyone with any evidence that officers can examine. But if such a complaint was to emerge, Scotland Yard would ‘assess whether any crime has been committed’. Right: Mr Bashir last month
The corporation has previously said in a statement that Mr Bashir admitted commissioning the mocked-up bank documents – relating to the earl’s employee -and it is understood the journalist was found to have ‘done wrong’ at the end of the process.
It is not known what sanction, if any, he faced.
Mr Bashir, now the BBC’s religion editor, is seriously ill with Covid-19-related complications and is not in a position to respond to the earl’s allegations, the BBC has said.
A spokeswoman for the corporation previously said: ‘A lot has been written and broadcast about the Princess of Wales’s interview in recent weeks. It is important that we have a view of what happened based on the evidence of everyone involved. Clearly that has not yet been able to happen.
‘But to be absolutely clear, the BBC is determined to get to the truth of what happened. That’s why we have appointed Lord Dyson to lead a fully independent investigation.
‘It is vital that everyone with information shares that with Lord Dyson, so that he can investigate thoroughly and draw his conclusions having heard all the evidence.’
On Monday, former BBC director Lord Tony Hall said he ‘looks forward’ to helping an independent inquiry into Martin Bashir’s Panorama interview with Princess Diana – but insisted he ‘investigated it at the time’.
Lord Hall was Head of News at the BBC when the controversial interview took place and insisted that he had ‘investigated’ the interview at the time.
However, he refused to comment on whether his initial inquiry was a failure.
He told ITV News: ‘I’m going to take part in the Inquiry, I think Lord Dyson is the right way, he’s doing all the right things, and I will take part in that inquiry and I shall say what I want to say to Lord Dyson.
‘I investigated at the time, I will take part in the Lord Dyson inquiry and I look forward to telling him what I think.’
Lord Dyson previously said he will start his inquiry ‘straight away’ by interviewing corporation staff and having access to available records.
He also promised Mr Bashir a ‘thorough and fair’ investigation following sensational claims the journalist secured the Princess of Wales’s trust by faking two bank statements.
Diana’s brother Earl Spencer (pictured) has alleged Mr Bashir showed him fake financial documents and told untrue stories about the royal family to gain access to Diana