Princes call for speedy conclusion to Diana inquest
“It is their desire that the inquest should not only be open, fair and transparent but that it should move swiftly to a conclusion,” according to a letter from Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, private secretary to the princes, which was read at the opening session.
Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, a retired senior judge and member of the House of Lords, presided at preliminary hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice, which focussed on procedural issues. She ruled that the deaths of Diana and her boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed would be examined together.
Queen Elizabeth II sided with Mr al-Fayed’s father, Mohamed al-Fayed, in urging that a jury — if called — should be made up of members of the general public. Because Diana was buried as a royal, an inquest jury would normally be made up of royal household members.
Mohamed al-Fayed has accused the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, of orchestrating a plot to murder Diana and his son. A police inquiry published last year concluded that there was no murder conspiracy.
In a letter to the court, the queen’s lawyer, John Nutting, said a royal jury should be avoided ‘‘to avoid any appearance of bias in consideration of the issues which such an inquest would be bound to consider”. Ms Butler-Sloss concurred.
‘‘I think that’s one decision I can make today,’’ she said. ‘‘I think it entirely inappropriate for me to ask for a jury from the royal household.’’
She reserved a decision, however, on whether to have the case heard by jury.
The full inquest, which was adjourned in 2004 shortly after it began, is expected to take place later this year, nearly a decade after the couple were killed in a car crash in a Paris tunnel. The inquest was put off until the French investigations were completed.
The two-year French probe, a three-year Metropolitan Police inquiry and legal action by Mr al-Fayed have delayed the inquests by nearly a decade.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
