Coroner throws out 'dramatic' new e-mail evidence that halted Diana inquest

13 April 2012

An e-mail relating to potential new evidence about driver Henri Paul was sent to the coroner

Lord Justice Scott Baker stopped his summing up after receiving an e-mail regarding a possible blood sample taken from Dodi and Diana's driver, Henri Paul.

The jury had to retire during this morning's hearing to allow for legal argument about the "new evidence" and then it was decided the e-mail needed to be looked into further and they were sent for an early lunch.

Blood tests and other samples taken from Mr Paul, who was the Paris Ritz Hotel's acting head of security, showed he was three times the French drink-drive limit. But Mohamed Al Fayed has always believed the samples were either faked or switched, pointing to question marks over the labelling of vials of blood.

It had been believed that the samples were lost or destroyed and questions remained over a DNA test on one which appeared to show it was from Mr Paul.

The coroner told the jury today: "The cause of asking you to retire was that this morning we received an email from the French giving information in relation in very broad terms, although we have not been able to get a proper translation of it yet, to do with samples and Henri Paul.

"Whether this contains anything that is new seems very doubtful. Whether it does contain anything that is relevant also seems pretty doubtful.

"But having gone six months down the road it seems desirable that we should bottom out this problem before we go any further."

When the inquest resumed after lunch, the coroner told the jury the apparent hitch involving possible samples from Mr Paul was no longer a problem.

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No conspiracy: Diana and Dodi were killed alongside driver Henri Paul in 1997 when their car crashed inside the Alma tunnel in Paris after a visit to the Ritz

He said: "Members of the jury, I'm happy to say the problem has been resolved and there's nothing to be worried about and we can proceed."

Lord Justice Scott Baker has already poured cold water on Mohamed Al Fayed's conspiracy theories about a murder plot and attacked Diana's former butler Paul Burrell.

With reference to Burrell's claims that he was Diana's 'rock', the coroner reminded the jury he was "quite a porous rock" considering the number of her secrets that have already been leaked.

"He had written books, one was into its second edition. And in a number of ways he had cashed in on his self-styled position of having been 'Diana's rock'," he said.

"It was later pointed out to him in cross-examination by Mr Keen, QC, that he had become a rather porous rock, as you may remember."

Dismissing yet another theory about the Princess's death, he rejected suggestions her involvement in anti-land mine campaigns was a motive for killing her.

"You may think even if her support was an embarrassment, any connection between this and her death is a bridge too far," he said.

The Diana crash was not a conspiracy the coroner has ruled.

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The Diana crash was not a conspiracy the coroner has ruled

Lord Justice Scott Baker had already told the court yesterday: "One of the regrettable features of this case is the number of people who it appears have told lies in the witness box or elsewhere.

"Some are liars by their own admission - I refer to James Andanson, Paul Burrell and John Macnamara.

"Others have either admitted telling half truths or part of their evidence may have shown in one respect or more that either in court or previously that they were not telling the truth."

The coroner suggested that lies could have been told to seek attention, because someone felt they owed it to their boss, to improve their own situation or because they had an axe to grind.

Lord Justice Scott Baker yesterday also ridiculed Mohamed Al Fayed's theory that Diana and his son, Dodi, were killed as the result of a murder plot orchestrated by Prince Philip.

The tycoon's claims were not supported by a "shred of evidence", the coroner said, before he ruled out the possibility of the jury returning a verdict of murder.

He said: "Various propositions were being asserted, have been shown to be so demonstrably without foundation that they are no longer being pursued by Mohamed Al Fayed's lawyer, even if he still continues to believe in their truth in his own mind.

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"They are not being pursued because there is not a shred of evidence to support them.

"Foremost among them is the proposition that Diana was assassinated by the secret intelligence service (MI6) on the orders of the Duke of Edinburgh.

"There is no evidence that the Duke of Edinburgh ordered Diana's execution, and there is no evidence that the secret intelligence service or any other government agency organised it.

"I have determined that it is not open to you to find that this was unlawful killing by the Duke of Edinburgh or anyone else in a staged accident."

By law, a coroner can rule out potential verdicts if they consider that substantive evidence has not been produced in court.

The Harrods tycoon has claimed that the fatal crash in a Paris tunnel was orchestrated by MI6 agents acting on orders from Prince Philip to prevent the couple marrying and having a Muslim baby.

But the jury was told that the Al Fayed legal team, led by Michael Mansfield QC, had effectively abandoned many of the key claims.

The coroner said Mr Mansfield was no longer putting forward the claim that the Duke of Edinburgh ordered the execution of Diana through MI6.

Instead, the court heard that Mr Mansfield had suggested that Philip was hostile to the princess and this had caused "some unknown members of the Establishment to take matters into their own hands".

To laughter, the coroner remarked: "That, you may think, is a long way from an allegation that Prince Philip ordered the murder of Diana by MI6, with whom he ran the country."

He told the jury: "A belief expressed in legal proceedings which is not supported by evidence is worthless, it is not evidence.

"Whatever you may think about motives or alleged hostility to Diana they cannot be used to prove that something untoward happened that night in Paris."

Lord Justice Scott Baker told the jury they could reach one of five possible verdicts, including an open verdict, unlawful killing and accidental death.

Defending the length and near £7million cost of the inquest, which has heard from almost 250 witnesses, the coroner said all conspiracy theories had been put to the test.

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