Lord Hall, who was director of news when Martin Bashir used deception to get the 1995 scoop, said his continued presence would be a "distraction".
The inquiry described an internal probe led by Lord Hall in 1996 into what happened as "woefully ineffective".
Diana's brother Earl Spencer has asked the Met Police to investigate the BBC.
A spokesman for the force would not comment on whether Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick had received a letter from Earl Spencer, who has alleged his sister was the victim of blackmail and fraud.
