Diana inquest: Paparazzi and driver to blame

THE inquest into the death of Princess Diana returned a verdict of unlawful killing last night, blaming the driving of chauffeur Henri Paul and paparazzi photographers pursuing her car.

Jurors returned verdicts of unlawful killing through grossly negligent driving, more than a decade after the Paris car crash in 1997 which killed the princess, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and Paul, who had been drinking that night.

They also found that the fact Diana and Fayed were not wearing seatbelts contributed to their deaths.

During the six-month inquest at London’s High Court, Dodi’s father Mohamed Al Fayed claimed his son and Diana had been about to get married and she was pregnant when she died.

He said they were killed in a plot involving Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip, to prevent the mother of the future king marrying a Muslim.

Mr Al Fayed said he was “disappointed” by the verdict. “I’m not the only person who says they were murdered. Diana predicted that she would be murdered and how it would happen,” said the Egyptian tycoon.

“The verdicts will come as a blow to many millions of people around the world who supported my struggle, and I thank them.

“The jury have found that it wasn’t just the paparazzi who caused the crash, but unidentified following vehicles. Who they are and what they were doing in Paris is still a mystery.”

The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, had said in his summing-up of the case that there was “not a shred of evidence” to support Mr Al Fayed’s theory.

John Stevens, Britain’s former top policeman who headed the British investigation into the crash, said he hoped the verdict would put an end to conspiracy theories which have swirled around the case for the past decade.

“I do hope everybody can take this verdict as being closure to this particularly tragic incident and the people who have died will be allowed to rest in peace,” he said, urging Mr Al Fayed to keep his promise to respect the jury’s decision.

Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell was among witnesses to take the stand, but his evidence was severely criticised by the judge who said he had been selective with the truth.