JAMES Hewitt has criticized rogue BBC reporter Martin Bashir for taking advantage of Princess Diana – and turning him into the ‘most hated man in the world’.
He burned the journalist a ‘toad’ because he had tricked her in the 1995 Panorama interview into confirming their extramarital affair.
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James Hewitt has criticized rogue BBC reporter Martin Bashir for taking advantage of Princess DianaCredit: w8media 
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He branded the journalist a ‘toad’ for misleading her into confirming their extramarital affair in the 1995 Panorama interview.Credit: PA 
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Diana acknowledged the five-year relationship with the former army officer – which ended in 1991Credit: Camera Press 
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James said: ‘I think any underhanded attitude – and especially if you take advantage of someone’s weakness and are a toad – is wrong’Credit: Getty
While discussing her painful breakup with her Prince Charles, Diana acknowledged the five-year relationship with the former army officer – which ended in 1991.
She admitted Mr. Bashir: “Yes, I was in love with him, but I was very disappointed.”
An investigation later found the embarrassed presenter used “deceitful means” to win the chat – including drip feeding Diana false accusations about her staff and friends.
James, 66, now works with a charity that helps Ukrainians resist the Russian despot Vladimir Putinis still angry about it Mr Bashir’s behavior and its consequences.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “I think the guy needs to seriously examine his conscience. To do this through deception is unforgivable, and there is little way back from there.
“I don’t know him personally, but I think any kind of underhandedness – especially if you take advantage of someone’s weakness and go down a path – is wrong. It touched me and it had a huge effect.”
James says he now hopes the revelations about Mr Bashir will now put the story into a different context so the public can understand it.
He said: “I hope people realize that the whole program has to be seen for what it was – and that was to mislead someone into saying things and doing things that they might not necessarily have wanted to say if all the facts were known. .
“It wasn’t good for anyone except BBC figures and Martin Bashir’s career.
“Nothing was exposed, only lies and half-truths were used.”
Ex-BBC chief Lord Birt says Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana is ‘absolute horror story’
He claims the backlash has made him an international pariah – and left a lasting stain on his reputation.
He was even plagued by rumors that he was Prince Harry’s real father – despite his insistence, he and Diana first met in 1986 – two years later Harry’s birth.
An independent investigation in 2021 by Judge John Dyson at the Supreme Court found that Bashir, 61, had been “devious” and “dishonest” in his dealings with Diana.
Speaking at a hotel near his home in Devon, James said he was known as Diana’s lover – and branded an ‘idiot’ – but never managed to settle down and have children of his own.
He said: “I regret not having had a more normal existence in that respect – a successful marriage and children who might have been successful later.”
He says he still hasn’t ruled out starting a family, but admits that “it’s hard to imagine now.”
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He adds: “I think I missed that. I would have loved to have children, but there we are, you can’t have everything in life.”
When asked why he remained single, he said: “I think it’s pretty obvious, given my history and the difficulties that followed, and because I’ve been the most hated person in the world.”
James has also had to deal with some serious health traumas.
He suffered a stroke in 2017 after undergoing open-heart surgery.
His relatives were warned he had only a 20 percent chance of survival after he became seriously ill from a bacterial infection that affected a valve in his heart.
He remembers the operation: “It caused a stroke and took a long time to recover from.
I think the guy needs to seriously examine his conscience. To do this through deception is unforgivable and there is little way back from there
James Hewitt
“It left me paralyzed on my left side and it took about six months before I regained any feeling.
“I also had a septic embolism and lost a ball the size of a clementine from the frontal lobe of my brain.
“I was in hospital for about five months and I think it was the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. But I was lucky. If they hadn’t caught me when they did, I wouldn’t have survived more than one day, maybe less.
James has now spent the past two years participating in dangerous relief missions Ukraine.
He has been involved as a driver and fundraiser with the charity Make A Difference Foundation and its Operation SafeDrop, which dropped aid and helped more than 3,000 people to safety.
He said: “I feel like I’ve been given a new life. I have to try to be a little better and more useful this time. I didn’t want to sit at home on the couch watching TV and yelling at everyone when Putin’s ugly mug came on.”
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James depicted in army uniformCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 
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James has spent the past two years participating in dangerous aid missions to Ukraine
He is ready for his 16th relief effort in January and is enjoying the work with the organization, which he says has proven useful to the UN and the Red Cross.
He said: “We have done things for them that they understandably cannot do because they cannot have their people too close to the front – and we are prepared to do that.
“I maintain that the most dangerous thing we do is driving, because it is a very, very long way from the Polish border to the front line.
But if we don’t stop him, Putin will be emboldened to do more and it’s a battle between good and evil.
I don’t know him personally, but I think any underhanded attitude – especially if you take advantage of someone’s weakness and go down a path – is wrong. It touched me and it had a huge effect
James Hewitt
“You couldn’t find a clearer example of this. Putin is a bully and a thug and you have to think about the wider geopolitical effect because if we give up on Ukraine it will embolden China.
“Time is seriously running out and as I watched Remembrance Day last week – and thought about all the people who have died fighting for freedom – I wondered if we should be doing more.”
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