TORONTO -- The Duke of Cambridge says a new investigation into the controversial BBC interview with his mother, Diana, in 1995 is a 鈥渟tep in the right direction.鈥�
In a statement emailed to CTVNews.ca on Thursday, Kensington Palace said Prince William 鈥渢entatively welcomed鈥� the independent investigation led by Lord John Dyson, a former Supreme Court judge and one of the United Kingdom鈥檚 most senior retired judges.
Lord Dyson will be looking into allegations made by the Princess of Wales鈥� brother, Charles Spencer, earlier this month that accused BBC journalist Martin Bashir of using forged bank statements and false claims to convince her to participate in the interview.
During the Panorama interview, which aired on the BBC in 1995, Diana famously said 鈥渢here were three of us in this marriage,鈥� in reference to her husband Prince Charles鈥� relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles.
A year later, Diana divorced the Prince of Wales. She died the following year in a car crash in Paris while being chased by paparazzi.
The BBC鈥檚 current director-general, Tim Davie, the independent investigation 鈥渢o get to the truth about these events.鈥� The BBC has also committed to handing over all of its relevant records to the investigation.
In his statement, Prince William said of the new inquiry: 鈥淚t should help establish the truth behind the actions that led to the Panorama interview and subsequent decisions taken by those in the BBC at the time.鈥�
agreed upon by the BBC and investigators, the probe will consider to what extent the actions of Bashir influenced Princess Diana鈥檚 decision to give the interview and what knowledge the broadcaster had of those actions at the time.
The BBC said it will publish the investigation鈥檚 findings after its conclusion.
Bashir, who is now 57 years old and is the current religion editor for BBC News, has been unable to comment on Spencer鈥檚 allegations because he鈥檚 recovering from heart surgery and complications from COVID-19, according to the broadcaster.
With files from The Associated Press
