Diana inquiry costs exceed £12m

The cost of the investigation into the death of Princess Diana has topped £12.5m, new figures show.

The coroner's inquest reached £4.5m, with a further £8m spent on the Metropolitan Police investigation.

The inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Al Fayed, who died in a 1997 Paris car crash, lasted more than three months and heard from 250 witnesses.

The jury returned verdicts of unlawful killing. A BBC poll found 78% of people thought the inquest a waste of money.

Further insanity

Does Great Britain have no better use of their money? I mean yes, Princess Diana died, but does it mean that £12.5m needs to be spent just so everyone can be sure that she wasn't murdered? Come on people...

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Burrell 'removed ring from Diana'

Former royal butler Paul Burrell claimed he had removed an engagement ring from Princess Diana's body, his former bodyguard has told her inquest.

Michael Faux said Mr Burrell had told him he had taken the ring, with blood on it, from her body, in Paris after her fatal car crash in August 1997.

Mr Faux also said he had seen Mr Burrell burning documents, some with Buckingham Palace letterheads.

Mr Burrell denied he had ever spoken of such a ring or burnt important papers.

BBC News royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the ring discussed in Monday's evidence could not be the one described throughout the inquest as an engagement ring bought by Dodi Al Fayed, as that ring was on public display at Harrods department store.

The ring Mr Burrell referred to "could only have been a friendship ring, a Bulgari friendship ring," he said.

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And Burnell's back.

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Burrell refuses return to inquest

Former royal butler Paul Burrell has refused to return to the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

He had been asked to explain discrepancies between his evidence and comments reported in the Sun newspaper.

In a video recording obtained by the Sun, Mr Burrell apparently claims he introduced "red herrings" during his evidence and held back facts.

The coroner said he cannot compel him to give evidence because he is outside the court's jurisdiction in the US.

Lord Justice Scott Baker said in a statement: "The coroner asked him to give further evidence either in person or via videolink from abroad.

"Mr Burrell has refused to do this and, as he is outside the court jurisdiction, the coroner has no power to compel him to give evidence."

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Once again Burrell is back. One innocent testimony must not be enough for the British courts.

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Ex-MI6 boss denies killing Diana

MI6's former chief has denied that the intelligence service murdered Diana, Princess of Wales.

At the inquest into her death, Sir Richard Dearlove insisted he had not been aware of MI6 assassinating anyone in his 38-year career there.

He rejected claims by Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed that Diana was killed by MI6 on the orders of Prince Philip.

Mr Al Fayed's son Dodi and driver Henri Paul were also killed in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

Sir Richard told the inquest that this was a "very personal allegation" given his role at the Secret

Intelligence Service - otherwise known as MI6 - at the time.

He was MI6's director of operations from 1994 to 1999, and served as head of the agency from 1999 to 2004.

He denied that any assassinations took place under his authority.

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Once again, another conspiracy theory about the death of Princess Diana has been disproven.

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Dodi 'insisted on car decoy plan'

The sole survivor of the car crash which killed Princess Diana said Dodi Al Fayed had insisted on the ill-fated decoy plan to dodge waiting paparazzi.

Trevor Rees said he had had reservations about Mr Al Fayed's plan to sneak out of the Ritz Hotel.

He suffered serious head injuries and made a good recovery but has said he has little memory of events which led up to Diana and Mr Al Fayed's deaths.

Giving evidence at their inquest, he denied being part of a murder cover-up.

Mr Rees, who was known as Rees-Jones at the time of the crash on 31 August 1997, told the jury he went along with the plan because Dodi had talked about leaving the Paris hotel with no security.

Mr Rees, who was employed by Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed as a bodyguard for his son Dodi at the time of the crash, broke every bone in his face and suffered serious chest injuries.

The ex-bodyguard, the only person in the car wearing a seatbelt, told the inquest: "All I have ever done is given the truth as I see it."

He made the remarks in answer to a question in which Ian Burnett QC, for the coroner, outlined Mohamed Al Fayed's controversial claim that Diana was murdered.

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This article provides further insight into the death of Princes Diana and what happened on the night of her death. Like Diana's former butler Paul Burrell, Trevor Rees also does not believe that her death was planned.

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Royal Diana plot was 'impossible'

Princess Diana's former butler has told the inquest into her death it is "impossible" that she was murdered on the orders of the Royal Family.

When asked if Prince Charles could have planned her death, Paul Burrell said: "I could not possibly see the father of her children murdering her."

He also told the court that as butler to the princess, he connected Diana's network of friends and had been "at the hub of the wheel".

Diana, her companion Dodi Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died in Paris in a car crash in August 1997.

Mr Burrell's comments about the likelihood of a royal murder plot followed a line of questioning about a note from the princess to him in which she said that her husband Prince Charles was "planning an accident in my car".

Asked by Ian Burnett QC, counsel to the inquest, if he knew of anything to support the idea that Diana and Mr Al Fayed were murdered, Mr Burrell said: "No, I can't begin to believe that.
"Knowing the members of the Royal Family as I do, and knowing them so well, I think that's impossible."

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This article rejects the possible murder of Princess Diana based on the testimony provided by her former butler, Paul Burrell.