Martin Bashir claims Princess Diana was the source of royal rumours for his infamous TV interview

Princess Diana’s infamous 1995 television interview was fueled by rumours passed along by Diana herself, claims interviewer Martin Bashir.

The BBC reporter is now under investigation for purported lies he told to Diana to secure her cooperation in a scandalous televised chat, which ultimately led to her divorce.  Bashir now claims that the “smears” attributed to him actually came from Princess Diana. A BBC probe on the allegations was started in November after Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, made notes he took public.

Spencer’s notes, taken during a meeting with Bashir and his sister, alleged the Queen was ill and on the verge of abdication, that Prince Charles was in love with his children’s nanny, and that Prince William wore a Swatch watch that contained a bugging device.

But Bashir now claims the smears meeting had remarks mistakenly attributed to him instead of Diana. The BBC probe, which is being led by a former judge, is expected to be completed next month. A negative outcome would likely affect Bashir’s continued tenure with the BBC.

The Royal Family will reportedly not pursue Bashir with a criminal investigation.

His actions in obtaining access to the Princess, and the BBC’s subsequent handling of the matter, have been questioned for decades. Diana’s brother reopened the debate earlier this month when he presented the BBC with a “dossier” of evidence that allegely casts new light on the tactics deployed by Bashir after he was cleared of wrongdoing by the broadcaster in 1996.