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Diana, Dodi murdered - Al Fayed
18/02/2008 14:39 - (SA)
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| Mohamed Al Fayed arrives at the High Court to take the stand at a coroner's inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and his son, Dodi. (Kirsty Wigglesworth, AP) |
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London - Mohamed Al Fayed said on Monday that the withholding of a note recording Princess Diana's fears for her safety proves that she and his son were murdered in Paris in 1997.
Al Fayed referred to a lawyer's note of a conversation with Diana in 1995, which was handed to police after her death but not disclosed for six years.
"She said that she is going to die or be killed in a car crash and that is what happened to her and my son," Al Fayed testified at a coroner's inquest into the couple's deaths.
Al Fayed's time in the witness box allows him the most public airing yet for his long-held theories of a murder plot involving the British secret service and Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II.
Lengthy investigations by French and British police concluded that the August 31, 1997 crash was an accident, and that driver Henri Paul was drunk and speeding.
Proof her life was in danger
"Princess Diana told me that she had proof that her life was in danger and that she kept it in a wooden box," Al Fayed said.
If anything happened to her, Al Fayed said, he was told that "I must make sure that the contents of this box were made public."
The box allegedly contained letters from Prince Philip to Diana. The letters are now missing.
Al Fayed read a lengthy statement laying out his theory of a huge plot directed at murdering the couple. He disputed evidence that Paul, who also died in the crash, was drunk, and alleged the driver was part of the plot.
"When he was killed, they find 20 000 francs in his pocket, because he disappeared three hours before the murder being briefed on what to do," Al Fayed said.
He also said Diana was pregnant, and that she and Dodi planned to announce their engagement.
"Diana told me on the telephone that she was pregnant," he said. "I was the only person that they (Dodi and Diana) told."
Butler lied - video
Also Monday, Coroner Scott Baker said that he was seeking a copy of a video which was the basis for a report in The Sun newspaper that quoted Diana's former butler Paul Burrell as saying that he had not told the whole truth during his three days of testimony to the inquest.
Baker refused to let Al Fayed read anything from that report to the jury.
Al Fayed has maintained for a decade that Diana and his son were murdered.
- AP
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