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Boris Johnson said he was “very concerned” about the findings of the damning report into the “deceit” by which Martin Bashir landed his BBC interview with Princess Diana.
The prime minister said he hoped the public broadcaster “will be taking every possible step to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again”.
The government has vowed to examine how the BBC is run after Lord Dyson’s damning inquiry into how the broadcaster got its bombshell 1995 interview with Diana.
An investigation concluded that journalist Martin Bashir has used “deceit” to land the interview and also lambasted the BBC for its “woefully ineffective” investigation the following year.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden condemned “damning failings at the heart of the BBC” and suggested a review of the broadcaster due to start next year could be widened.
“We will now reflect on Lord Dyson’s thorough report and consider whether further governance reforms at the BBC are needed in the mid-term charter review,” he tweeted.
However, Mr Dowden also hinted at a recognition that the scandal had taken place under a different management regime at the BBC, with signs of welcome changes since.
Mr Dowden added: “I welcome the fact that the new leadership launched this independent inquiry and expect them to ensure that this can never happen again.”
Influential MP Steve Baker led the push for reform from the Tory backbenches. “If this sort of thing was still being done by the BBC … very serious questions would have to be asked about its existence in its current form.”
The government recently backed away from a different battle with the public broadcaster – after dropping threats to decriminalise the licence fee.
Meanwhile, the influential Public Accounts Committee warned on Friday that the BBC had “ducked the hard choices” over budget cuts which it will be forced to make
Labour MP Meg Hillier, committee chair, said that “reorganising the deckchairs” in “this Titanic organisation” was not enough at a time when 200,000 households a year were cancelling their licence fee.
Scotland Yard has said it will “assess the contents” of Lord Dyson’s report to ensure there is “no significant new evidence”.
Police had previously decided against pursuing a criminal investigation into the controversy, which saw Mr Bashir commission fake bank statements.
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