DIANA DEATH A 'TRAGIC ACCIDENT'
An official UK police inquiry into the Paris car crash which killed Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed has found no evidence the couple were murdered.
Lord Stevens, who led the three-year investigation, said the 1997 crash was a "tragic accident".
The inquiry report said chauffeur Henri Paul, who also died, was speeding and over the legal drink-drive limit.
A spokesman for Mr Al Fayed's father said he does not accept the findings as questions remain "unanswered".
Michael Cole said it was "highly unsatisfactory" that up to 18 key witnesses to the crash were not interviewed by the Metropolitan Police's inquiry into the death.
He called for next year's inquests into the deaths to be heard before a jury so that the evidence presented by Lord Stevens could be "thoroughly tested".
The princess, 36, and Mr Al Fayed, 42, died when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in August 1997.
Lord Stevens, who led the three-year investigation, said the 1997 crash was a "tragic accident".
The inquiry report said chauffeur Henri Paul, who also died, was speeding and over the legal drink-drive limit.
A spokesman for Mr Al Fayed's father said he does not accept the findings as questions remain "unanswered".
Michael Cole said it was "highly unsatisfactory" that up to 18 key witnesses to the crash were not interviewed by the Metropolitan Police's inquiry into the death.
He called for next year's inquests into the deaths to be heard before a jury so that the evidence presented by Lord Stevens could be "thoroughly tested".
The princess, 36, and Mr Al Fayed, 42, died when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in August 1997.
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"There was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of that car," Lord Stevens said.
The findings - contained within an 832 page document - form part of the inquest, into the deaths of the couple.
Lord Stevens told a news conference in London the report addresses the key issues emerging from a "most complex and challenging" investigation.
The inquiry brought together 1,500 witness statements
"I have no doubt that speculation as to what happened that night will continue and that there are some matters, as in many other investigations, about which we may never find a definitive answer.
The evidence suggests Princess Diana was not engaged or about to get engaged and scientific tests showed she was not pregnant, he said.
"We have spoken to many of her family and closest friends and none of them have indicated to us that she was either about to or wished to get engaged," he said.
"Prince William has confirmed to me that his mother had not given him the slightest indication about such plans for the future."
Some 400 people, including Prince Charles, the Duke of Edinburgh and the heads of MI5 and MI6, were interviewed or contacted by the inquiry.
Referring to claims by Mr Al Fayed's father, Mohamed, the report said there was no evidence of a connection between the Duke of Edinburgh and MI6.
Reaction to report findings
Mr Stevens said the various legal cases currently being pursued by Mr Al Fayed through the French courts are "unlikely, in my opinion, to have any bearing on my conclusion that there was no conspiracy or cover up".
He said he was satisfied the US Central Intelligence Agency had made no attempt to hold back information that could have altered the inquiry's conclusions.
"I very much hope that all the work we have done and the publication of this report will help to bring some closure to all who continue to mourn the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, Dodi Al Fayed and Henri Paul," said Lord Stevens.
Clarence House said later that Princes William and Harry hope the "conclusive findings" of the report will end speculation surrounding their mother's death.
Paparazzi pursuit
Harrods department store boss Mr Al Fayed is due to issue a response to the report.
In advance of the publication, he told BBC News that, if Lord Stevens made the "really shocking" conclusion that the deaths were an accident, he would refuse to accept it.
The crash took place as the couple were pursued by paparazzi photographers during the drive from the Ritz hotel to Mr Al Fayed's flat.
A French investigation into the crash concluded Mr Paul had lost control of the car because he was driving too fast while under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs.
Meanwhile, lawyers for bodyguard Trevor Rees, the sole survivor of the crash, said he will not be making any comment on the report or the inquest.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
posted by jackaranda at 4:11 pm
1 Comments:
Bottom line: a drunk driver was driving over 60 mph in a 30 mph zone and crashed into a pillar. The drunk driver was a longtime employee of the Fayed family. End of discussion. No assassin on a grassy knoll, no Prince Philip hit squad, no alien abductions.
The late Quentin Crisp spoke truthfully, if bluntly, that Princess Diana's fast and shallow lifestyle contributed to her own demise: "She could have been Queen of England -- and she was swanning about Paris with Arabs. What disgraceful behavior. Going about saying she wanted to be the queen of hearts. The vulgarity of it is so overpowering." (Atlanta Southern Voice, 1 July 1999).
Or to put it more kindly, both Diana and her brother, Charles Spencer, probably suffered from borderline personality disorder (BPD), rooted in their mother's abandonment of them when they were young children.
For Charles Spencer, BPD meant insatiable sexual promiscuity (his wife was divorcing him at the time of Diana's death). For Diana, BPD meant intense insecurity and an insatiable need for attention and affection (which even the best husband could never have fulfilled). These sowed the seeds of her fast lifestyle and her tragic fate.
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