Witness criticises al Fayed over run-up to Diana crash

The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, might have been prevented had Mohamed al Fayed heeded pleas for more security, a key inquest witness suggested today.

Bodyguard Kieran Wingfield, who quit his job on the Harrods tycoon’s security team rather than back his boss’s “conspiracy theories”, said he had not been “allowed” to do his job properly in the run-up to the tragedy.

He also told the British Princess’s inquest in London:

:: That Mr al Fayed began “ranting” and “swearing” when the bodyguard refused to go on television for an appearance he feared would fuel claims Diana was murdered.

:: That Mr al Fayed’s head of security had asked him to persuade Trevor Rees - the sole survivor of the crash – not to speak to police about it.

:: That the Harrods tycoon’s reaction to the news of the Princess’s death was to say: “I hope the British government and Prince Philip are happy now.”

:: That Dodi had told him the ill-fated decoy plan to leave the Ritz Hotel from the rear, with acting head of security Henri Paul at the wheel, had been personally approved by Mohamed al Fayed.

Mr Wingfield – known as Kes – originally from Hull but now living in Jersey, is the only close witness to the key events leading up to the car smash who was not killed or injured.

He was with Diana and Dodi throughout their holiday on Mr al Fayed’s yacht, the Jonikal, in the last week of August 1997.

With fellow bodyguard Mr Rees, he accompanied them on to Paris on August 30 and was present in the Ritz throughout the final hours leading up to the crash in the Alma Tunnel in which Diana, Dodi and Mr Paul were killed.

Mr Rees was horrifically injured and lost much of his memory of the incident itself but Mr Wingfield was in another car at the time, as a “decoy” for the pursuing paparazzi.

Giving evidence today, he told of a catalogue of alleged security failings in the lead-up to the tragedy.

He insisted he had told Mr al Fayed in person that two security guards were not enough to protect the couple on the yacht but had been refused more.

Mr Wingfield was adamant that Dodi continually kept the two bodyguards in the dark about future movements – both on the cruise and later in Paris – preventing them planning the Princess’s security.

The former bodyguard described this as a “breach of trust” between Dodi and his security team.

He said that when they arrived at the Ritz at 10pm on the night of August 30 - two-and-a-half hours before the crash – he had not been told whether the couple would be staying there or going back to Dodi’s flat.

The first he knew of any plan for the couple to leave the hotel was when Henri Paul revealed that Dodi had decided on it, the jury heard.

The initial idea was for both bodyguards to leave by the front while Henri Paul drove the couple out the back, evading the paparazzi, he told the court.

But Mr Wingfield said they objected to Dodi in person when they eventually had a chance to speak to him after midnight.

He agreed to allow Mr Rees to go in his car – but still from the back and with Mr Paul driving, the jury were told.

Mr Wingfield said Dodi insisted: “It’s OK, it’s been okayed by MF. It’s been okayed by my father.”

Mr al Fayed’s barrister Michael Mansfield QC asked whether there was anything he and Mr Rees thought they should have done differently.

He answered: “If we were allowed to have done our jobs properly by the organisation and given more staff, as we requested, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation now.”

Mr Mansfield persisted: “I will suggest to you that you are really glossing over some responsibility that you had that night.

“Is there nothing that you think now, looking back, no error that you made, that may have led to a chain of events that resulted in part and contributed to what happened that night?”

He replied: “No, sir.”