Dodi's delayed inquest gets underway

The inquest into the death of Dodi Fayed finally opened today, more than six years after he was killed in a car crash with Diana, Princess of Wales.

Surrey coroner Michael Burgess began the inquest this afternoon at Wray Park, Reigate, in the county of Surrey, where Mr Fayed lived and is buried.

It followed the opening of an inquest earlier today at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster, London, into the death of Diana.

Diana, 36, and her playboy boyfriend 42-year-old Ehmad Al Fayed, nicknamed Dodi, were killed with chauffeur Henri Paul when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont d’Alma tunnel in Paris on August 31 1997.

They were pursued by paparazzi photographers after leaving the Ritz Hotel for Mr Fayed’s apartment.

A two-year investigation in France blamed Paul for losing control of the car because he was high on drink and prescription drugs and driving too fast.