Car crash or murder mystery . . . Diana debate won't go away
Friday December 15 2006
That, at least, is the verdict of Lord Stevens, who yesterday gave his final verdict on how the world's most famous woman actually died.
At midday, in a conference centre next to the Houses of Parliament in London, the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police pieced together the events that saw Princess Diana killed in a Paris underpass one Sunday morning in 1997.
His €3m inquiry, one of the most complex and expensive police investigations in recent history, concluded what many have always believed: Diana's death was a tragic accident.
Stevens claimed the Princess was killed when a Mercedes S280 being driven by a drunk man and pursued by several paparazzi photographers, crashed into a pillar in the Pont d'Alma tunnel. She was not wearing a seatbelt.
Princes William and Harry, who received a copy of the report on Wednesday night, were said to have welcomed its findings.
Not everyone is convinced, though. The most vociferous conspiracy theorist is Mohammed Fayed, whose son, Dodi, also died in the fatal crash.
He has long claimed that the couple were murdered as part of a complex plot involving Prince Philip and MI6, and has scheduled his own press conference for later in the afternoon.
"Mo's got dossiers and dossiers of evidence and is going to start publicising them in all sorts of arenas," said an associate yesterday.
Fayed's next opportunity to air claims of murky practice will be the much-delayed inquest into Diana's death, which is scheduled to resume next month.
There, royal coroner Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss will have much to discuss. Here, to get the ball rolling, are just some of the main cock-ups, conspiracies and unanswered questions that continue to surround the deaths.
The "phantom" pregnancy
Mohammed Fayed believes the British secret service murdered Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi, because she was pregnant with his child.
No evidence of pregnancy was found.
The "engagement" ring
Mr Fayed believes that Diana was engaged to his son and claims the couple were killed because Prince Philip didn't want the mother of a future king marrying a Muslim.
Alberto Repossi, a Monte Carlo jeweller, had claimed that the couple had bought a £230,000 emerald and diamond engagement ring. Mr Repossi has since changed his recollection of events.
The "death" note
Lord Stevens interviewed both Prince Charles and Paul Burrell, Diana's former butler, over a note that was apparently written by the Princess 10 months before her death.
Part of it read: "My husband is planning an 'accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury, to make the path clear for him to marry."
Although the message seems prescient, there was no evidence of sabotage to the Mercedes.
The driver
Henri Paul, the couple's 41-year-old driver who was instantly killed in the crash, turns out to have been in the pay of the French intelligence services.
Lord Stevens has traced more than £100,000 he had amassed in 14 bank accounts.
No payments have been linked to Diana's death though. The cash may have bought inside-information, but Paul is unlikely to have been a willing participant in a plot causing his death.
(© Independent Service)
- Guy Adams
