The ex-nanny of Prince William and Prince Harry is believed to be close to agreeing a settlement with the BBC for being smeared by former rogue reporter Martin Bashir.
She is thought to have been offered a significant payout as a result of false claims made by the journalist, used as part of his attempts to secure his 1995 interview with Princess Diana.
A High Court listing has emerged about a case which describes the BBC as the defendant and Alexandra Pettifer as the complainant.
Pettifer is Miss Legge-Bourke’s married name and her real first name is Alexandra.
The case type is described as ‘Media and Communication – Part 8 Claim – Permission to read statement in open court’.
It is believed the information is linked to the conclusion of a settlement deal between the BBC and the former royal nanny over the slurs Bashir made about her in an attempt to land his notorious Panorama interview with Diana.
It comes only days after the BBC was forced to issue an apology and a payout for defaming one of its own journalists who tried to expose Bashir’s tactics.
Former senior reporter and producer Mark Killick said the broadcaster had ‘launched a smear campaign’ against him after he raised concerns.
It has agreed to pay ‘a significant sum in damages and costs’, thought to be in the region of 50,000.
There was previously speculation that the BBC had offered a six-figure settlement to Miss Legge-Bourke.
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