[7][8] In 2020, BBC Director-General Tim Davie apologised to the princess's brother Charles Spencer because Bashir had used forged bank statements to win his and Diana's trust to secure the interview.

The constant presence of the media and their focus on her led her to perceive herself as a "good product that sits on the shelf...and people make a lot of money out of you".

Diana said that she had felt enormous relief at her pregnancy with William but that she subsequently suffered from post natal depression, which led her to be labelled by others as unstable and mentally unbalanced.

Diana felt that she had been compelled to perform her role as Princess of Wales and that her behaviour had led friends of Charles to indicate "that I was again unstable and sick and should be put in a home of some sort ...

Diana confirmed the accuracy of the Squidgygate tapes of a telephone conversation she had with James Gilbey; however, she denied the charges of having an affair with him and harassing Oliver Hoare.

Diana felt that the royal household saw her as a "threat of some kind" but that "every strong woman in history has had to walk down a similar path, and I think it's the strength that causes the confusion and the fear".

Birt had previously liased with Lord Robert Fellowes and Robin Janvrin while negotiating the BBC's access to the British royal family and wrote that he "had been sorry to hurt such good people".

[16] The BBC soon lost its sole production of the Queen's Royal Christmas Message in the wake of the interview, though Buckingham Palace denied that it was the reason, saying the new arrangements "reflect the composition of the television and radio industries today.

"[23] Tina Brown held a similar view and argued that Diana's "purpose was to frame herself to the British public as a betrayed woman before the increasingly inevitable divorce from Charles".

[30] Following these documentaries, BBC Director-General Tim Davie apologised to the princess's brother, Earl Charles Spencer, for the use of forged bank statements falsely indicating people close to her had been paid for spying.

[8][38] At the time of the revelations about his interview with the princess, Bashir, who had been rehired by the BBC in 2016 as its religion and ethics correspondent, was seriously ill from the aftereffects of COVID-19 and was recuperating after undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery.

[10][11] The following day, Prince William released a statement supporting the inquiry, saying that the investigation was a "step in the right direction" and that "it 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.

[45] On 4 March 2021, the Metropolitan Police announced that they would not begin a criminal investigation into the allegations after a "detailed assessment" and consulting with the force's lawyers, independent counsel and the Crown Prosecution Service.

[49] Later that month, it was reported that Dyson's inquiry found Bashir guilty of deceit and breaching BBC editorial conduct to obtain the interview.

[50] In Dyson's report, the 1996 inquiry led by Hall was described as "woefully ineffective" and the corporation was criticised for covering up the matter despite knowing how Bashir had secured the interview.

[54] Diana's sons issued their own statements following the conclusion of the inquiry, with William condemning the actions of BBC leaders and employees, stating that the lies told to his mother had contributed to her sense of "fear, paranoia and isolation".

[55] Harry also blamed the media and the paparazzi, adding that the "ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices" was the reason that Diana lost her life.

[55] Diana's brother made a connection between the interview and the succeeding chain of events that led to his sister's death two years later "without any form of real protection".

[57][58][59] Matt Wiessler also received an apology from the BBC but described it as "too little, too late", accused the corporation of "turning their back" on him, and added that none of the senior figures responsible for the coverup had apologised to him personally.

[64] The note written by Diana in December 1995 was published as a part of the inquiry in which she said, "Martin Bashir did not show me any documents, nor give me any information that I was not previously aware of".

[66] Lord Spencer later wrote to the Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick, asking them to look again at the evidence and circumstances surrounding his sister's interview.

[73][74] Former BBC directors general – Tony Hall and John Birt, the incumbent Tim Davie, and chairman Richard Sharp – appeared in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 15 June to answer questions about the interview.

[76][77] Hall stated that the 1996 inquiry which found Bashir as an "honest and honourable man" was the result of "wrong judgement", and that their trust in him was "abused and misplaced".

[76] Birt described the affair as "an absolute horror story", adding that they were all deceived by "a serial liar on an industrial scale" who perpetrated "one of the biggest crimes in the history of broadcasting".

[75][76] Davie also stated that at the time of Bashir's rehiring in 2016, the 1996 report was the only official document that addressed the issues related to the interview but it did not show the wrongdoings revealed "at the level we found out from the commissioning of Lord Dyson".

[80] In March 2022, the BBC apologised "unreservedly" to Patrick Jephson and paid him a "substantial sum" in damages (reported to be around £100,000)[63] for the "serious harm" caused to him due to the manner through which the interview was obtained by Bashir.

Davies noted that the interview did nevertheless "remain part of the historical record and there may be occasions in the future when it [would] be justified for the BBC to use short extracts for journalistic purposes", but such usage would be sparing, would require authorisation at executive committee level, and would be presented "in the full context of what we now know about the way the interview was obtained"; he also urged other broadcasters to implement similar restrictions on their future usage of the material.

[88] Judge Brian Kennedy issued an order in December 2023 directing the release of emails pertaining to the time in 2020 that the broadcaster was handling the controversy surrounding the interview.

In one email from July 2020, Bashir argued that forged documents had no bearing on obtaining the interview and if a "dynastic" journalist like David Dimbleby had been involved there would have been less controversy.

[92][93][94] In May 2021, after the conclusion of the Dyson inquiry that found Bashir guilty of deceit in obtaining the interview and the corporation of "incompetence" in their investigation, the BBC decided to return all awards it received for the programme, including the BAFTA.