Butler’s claims backed by Harrods boss

CLAIMS by former royal butler Paul Burrell that the Queen warned him about “powers at work” were last night backed by an unlikely source.

Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died when the car he and Diana, Princess of Wales, were travelling in crashed following a night out in Paris, said it was “highly significant” the Queen should give the former butler such a “solemn warning”.

In his first major interview since being acquitted of stealing scores of Diana’s personal items, Mr Burrell said the Queen told him: “There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge.”

Mr Al Fayed, who believes the crash was a “sinister” plot planned by the security services, described the Queen as a “sensible, level-headed woman who was revealing her “deep suspicions”.

But he also accused Mr Burrell, who was Diana’s butler up until her death in 1997, of “betraying” her trust and lying about his son.

In a statement he said of the Queen’s revelations: “It underlines in the most powerful way my repeated assertions that the security services played a sinister role in the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and my son.

“Diana confided to me more than once that the security services were keeping her under surveillance and she had very real fears that her life was under direct threat from them.” He added: “I do not support Paul Burrell because I believe that he has betrayed Diana’s trust and I know that he has lied about my son.

“However, it now seems clear that his trial was stopped by ‘powers at work within this country’ who wanted at all costs to prevent him from revealing royal secrets