Broadcast timeline
BBC News
Friday 18 September 2026 · 18:00 BST · 30m · 8 stories · 15 annotated moments · 25 of 30 min on news stories (84%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
In an exclusive BBC interview, Earl Spencer reiterated his claim that the King told him "we'll forget her soon enough" after Princess Diana's death, and recounted the King's angry response to the decision for Princes William and Harry to walk behind the coffin. Buckingham Palace has strongly pushed back, repeating its earlier statement that fraternal grief can cloud reason, while Spencer insisted he was telling the truth.
A preliminary report into the recent flight disruption found that a software defect in the air traffic control system caused the cancellations, not human error. Separately, the County Durham and Darlington NHS trust told the BBC that twenty women received unnecessary mastectomies during breast cancer treatment, with hundreds of patients harmed and private clinics run by the trust's clinical lead receiving nearly £6 million over six years.
MI5 has accepted that it gave evidence based on lies to three courts and that senior officers were repeatedly dishonest, with one senior officer resigned and another suspended. The sisters of Nicholas Brandram, the man suspected of being the Putney Pusher who was found dead, said their brother was innocent and accused the Met of negligence. A teenager who piloted a dinghy carrying 165 people across the Channel was jailed. A Scottish Sikh activist, Jagtar Singh Johal, was granted bail in India after nearly nine years without conviction. HarperCollins said it will no longer print David Walliams' back catalogue, and an MP committee will investigate the UK's poor Eurovision record.
- 1:28
- 1:28
Claim Earl Spencer book and comments renew royal tensions over Diana
Earl Spencer gave an interview to the BBC maintaining his account was truthful.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 1:28-1:50
- 1:28
Claim Earl Spencer book and comments renew royal tensions over Diana
Earl Spencer gave an interview to the BBC maintaining his account was truthful.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 1:28-1:50
- 2:39
Claim Earl Spencer book and comments renew royal tensions over Diana
Earl Spencer claimed Charles 'went ballistic' during a row.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 2:39-2:51
- 4:28
Claim Earl Spencer book and comments renew royal tensions over Diana
Earl Spencer alleged that Prince Charles said Diana would be forgotten soon enough.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 4:28-4:32
- 5:33
Claim Earl Spencer book and comments renew royal tensions over Diana
Earl Spencer alleged that Prince Charles said Diana would be forgotten soon enough.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 5:33-5:41
- 5:57
Claim Earl Spencer book and comments renew royal tensions over Diana
Earl Spencer gave an interview to the BBC maintaining his account was truthful.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 5:57-6:00
- 7:28
- 10:31
- 15:58
- 15:58
Claim MI5 accepts it gave dishonest evidence to three courts
MI5 admitted last year to providing false evidence in a case it brought against the BBC.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 15:58-16:07
- 16:27
Claim MI5 accepts it gave dishonest evidence to three courts
The High Court could bring contempt of court proceedings against MI5 officers or the service itself.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 16:27-16:42
- 17:32
Charged quote MI5 accepts it gave dishonest evidence to three courts
And in this case, the agent had attacked his girlfriend with a machete. And the court will have to decide what action to take at a later date. But whatever now happens, this has created real serious accountability for the secret state. And that is a victory for public interest journalism. Daniel, thank you.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 17:32-17:42
- 18:20
- 22:01
- 23:28
Claim Jagtar Singh Johal granted bail by Delhi High Court but remains in India
Delhi High Court granted bail in all seven cases against Johal.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 23:28-23:31
- 23:28
Claim Jagtar Singh Johal granted bail by Delhi High Court but remains in India
Delhi High Court granted bail in all seven cases against Johal.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 23:28-23:31
- 23:36
Claim Jagtar Singh Johal granted bail by Delhi High Court but remains in India
Jagtar Singh Johal was acquitted of all charges in one case in March 2025.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 23:36-23:41
- 23:36
Claim Jagtar Singh Johal granted bail by Delhi High Court but remains in India
Jagtar Singh Johal was acquitted of all charges in one case in March 2025.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 23:36-23:41
- 24:33
- 26:55 Story begins MPs launch inquiry into UK's poor Eurovision record
- 27:00
Contested quote MPs launch inquiry into UK's poor Eurovision record
This is the feedback that I get. Now, the UK has a world-leading music industry, so why, apart from Sam Ryder, does it tend to fare so badly at Eurovision? The question is serious enough to prompt a committee of MPs to investigate. Lisa Mzimba reports. This year's British Eurovision entry... ..and the biggest positive the UK could take...
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 27:00-27:04
- 27:34
Charged quote MPs launch inquiry into UK's poor Eurovision record
..but he still eventually came last. In 2023, Mae Muller did slightly better... ..second from last. Just two examples from a succession of Eurovision failures. The MP's inquiry will be looking at why more years can't be Sam Ryder years or better. He came second by questioning those who choose the UK act.
BBC One, BBC News, 18 September 2026, 27:34-27:38
Source: BBC ONE West, "BBC News", Friday 18 September 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.