Piers Morgan has blasted the BBC's management for failing to appear on Sunday's edition of the Andrew Marr Show amid criticism of the corporation's role in the ongoing Princess Diana interview scandal.
On Sunday night (NZT) Morgan, the former host of Good Morning Britain, tweeted calling the publicly-funded broadcasters "gutless weasels". He said it was "extraordinary... that nobody from BBC management would appear on Andrew Marr's show today to answer questions".
"We pay their salaries - they should be accountable to the public."
The programme, broadcast on the corporation's own channel BBC One, came after a recent independent inquiry by former Supreme Court Justice Lord Dyson found journalist Martin Bashir used "dishonest" methods to secure the infamous 1995 BBC Panorama interview with Diana.
The report found Bashir used faked bank statements to gain the trust of Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, who introduced the journalist to his sister. Spencer has since said he connects the interview with Diana's death.
Bashir has defended the interview, telling the Sunday Times that "everything we did in terms of the interview was as [Diana] wanted". He said: "I did something wrong... but for pity's sake, acknowledge something of the relationship we had".
Sunday's Andrew Marr Show included a one-on-one interview with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, who similarly asked: "Where is... the leadership of the BBC at this moment in time?"
The 1995 interview is most famous for Diana's revelation that there were "three of us" in her marriage to Prince Charles, "so it was a bit crowded".
