Inquests into Diana and Dodi deaths to go ahead

INQUESTS into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and her lover Dodi Fayed will go ahead, a coroner said yesterday.

Michael Burgess, who will conduct both inquests, said they would happen “in time” but it was “premature” to say when.

There had been fears that, six years on, there may never be a full investigation into the tragedy in a British court.

The statement said: “In time, as the law requires, there will be inquests into the deaths of both the late Dodi Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales.

“But it is premature to outline any arrangements or suggest any dates or timescale.”

Attempts to do so would be “entirely speculative”, it said.

Diana, 36, and Dodi, 42, were killed along with chauffeur Henri Paul when their Mercedes crashed in a Paris underpass on August 31, 1997.

Mr Burgess is conducting the inquest into Mr Fayed’s death in his role as Surrey Coroner because Mr Fayed was buried there.

Coincidentally, Mr Burgess is also Coroner to the Royal Household and would conduct any inquest into Diana’s death.

A joint inquest is thought to be highly unlikely.

He said a venue for the inquest for Mr Fayed had yet to be decided upon but said special arrangements would probably have to be made due to the immense interest in the case.

A spokesman for Dodi’s father, Mohamed al Fayed, said he still had not been given any indication by the Coroner of when the inquest would go ahead.

Mr al Fayed said: “After six years an inquest into the death of my son Dodi and Princess Diana is long overdue.

“A full public inquiry is what I have been calling for all along.

“There are many unanswered questions arising from the tragedy and I have always believed that the circumstances surrounding the crash should be properly examined in a public court forum where witnesses can be cross-examined and evidence decided upon by a jury of unbiased, ordinary citizens,” he said.

Harrods boss Mr al Fayed has campaigned for a public inquiry, claiming the crash was no accident and suggesting it was a murder conspiracy.

Diana’s personal bodyguard, Trevor Rees Jones, the sole survivor of the crash could be called as an inquest witness, but he has said in the past he can recall little of what happened.