Martin Bashir gets more hate for Diana interview as top MP claims his actions had 'whiff of criminality'

BBC and Martin Bashir continue to receive criticism over Princess Diana's interview with "Panorama," as an independent inquiry recently concluded that the journalist had used unethical ways to convince her to do the controversial chat.

The recent discoveries were discussed in the House of Commons on Monday, where MPs went all out to criticise the national broadcaster and Bashir for their treatment of the late British royal.

Culture minister John Whittingdale told MPs that the recent inquiry into the 1995 interview "makes shocking reading," and said it "details not just an appalling failure to uphold basic journalistic standards, but also an unwillingness to investigate complaints and to discover the truth." Though Whittingdale applauded the "new leadership" at the BBC for setting up an independent inquiry under Lord Dyson and accepting its findings in full, he noted that the broadcaster's global reputation remains "badly tarnished," reports Mail Online.

Meanwhile, a senior MP insisted that Bashir's actions should be probed by police, even though the Metropolitan Police had announced in March this year that it would not be conducting a criminal investigation into the matter.

"Lord Dyson's report was utterly damning. Put simply, Mr. Bashir obtained fame and fortune by instituting document forgery and callously scaring a mentally vulnerable woman - not a mistake as he claims in the Sunday Times but something with more than a whiff of criminality about it," said MP Julian Knight, who chairs the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

"The BBC then covered this up, blackballing whistleblowers and ensuring its own reporters didn't report on Bashir," Knight added.

Conservative Sir Iain Duncan Smith also asked about referrals to the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions), to which Whittingdale replied: "In terms of whether or not any criminal offences have been committed I understand that a request has gone to the Metropolitan Police to examine the evidence that has been revealed and to reach a judgment on that, and it is a matter for the police to determine."

Meanwhile, BBC announced that it will launch a "review the effectiveness of its editorial policies and governance in detail" in view of the findings of the inquiry into the 25-year-old interview. The board added that it hopes to ensure that the "mistakes of the past" could not be repeated.