The BBC has reached an agreement on financial compensation with graphic designer Matt Wiessler, who was sidelined after he pointed out that the legendary interview with Princess Diana in 1995 was unfair.
"We are pleased that the BBC and Mr. Wiessler have reached an agreement," said the broadcaster on Friday.
She did not give details of the agreement.
The now disgraced journalist Martin Bashir had obtained the interview with Diana by unfair means: He showed Diana's brother Charles Spencer forged bank statements, which apparently showed that employees at court were paid to spy on Lady Di. This then agreed to the interview about her failed marriage with Prince Charles. The falsified bank statements came from Wiessler, who didn't know what Bashir was up to with them.
The graphic designer did not know the background, but later raised the alarm at the BBC management. As a result, his fixed-term contract was no longer extended. On Friday, the BBC again apologized to Wiessler "for the way he has been treated in the past". The statement said that he acted "with absolute integrity, including when he expressed his concerns at the time." And: "We regret that these were not heard."
In a report released in May, former Supreme Court Justice John Dyson referred to Bashir's fraud.
The BBC harshly criticized Dyson for handling the case in his report.
In 1996 Lady Di and Prince Charles divorced, the following year Diana died in a car accident in Paris.
Bashir resigned from his roles at the BBC shortly before the report was released in May, according to his own admission for health reasons.