BBC apologises to graphic designer who forged documents for Martin Bashir for Princess Diana interview

Graphic designer Matt Wiessler , who was hired by Martin Bashir to forge documents that he later used to gain access to Princess Diana, has received an apology from the journalist's employer BBC.

Wiessler became a whistleblower by raising concerns about the forged documents and played a crucial role in leading to the evidence against Bashir in the inquiry into his BBC Panorama interview with Princess Diana. The graphic designer said he was unaware of Bashir's intentions at the time he was asked to mock up the fake bank statement.

He later raised concerns about the interview, but ended up being sidelined by the BBC. The broadcaster's current director-general Tim Davie has finally said sorry to Wiessler in private talks 26 years after the incident, reports The Mirror.

Wiessler said about the apology: "I still felt the BBC were just saying things to appease me. But I have come away from the meeting feeling, 'No, they really, really support me' and they really genuinely want to clear up the past."

He noted there might well be some compensation, but added, "We both just want to move on."

The documents edited by Wiessler were used by Bashir to convince Diana's brother Charles Spencer that two of his household staff were being paid to leak inside information about their family. This pushed Earl Spencer to approach his sister, who was already separated from Prince Charles and struggling with her role within the British royal family.

Last month, an inquiry into the explosive interview conducted by former justice Lord Dyson concluded that Bashir had used deceitful methods to secure the chat. The findings also ruled that BBC also "fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark" by covering up the unethical mistakes in the interview.

Since the inquiry, BBC and Bashir have apologised to the British royal family, particularly the late Princess's sons Prince William and Prince Harry, who have themselves issued strong statements expressing anger at the interview and the events that conspired in their mother's life due to it.