Diana Death Inquest Resumes in London

By JENNIFER QUINN

LONDON – The long-awaited British inquest into Princess Diana’s death in a 1997 car crash in Paris resumed Monday with two days of preliminary hearings at London’s historic Royal Courts of Justice.

Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, a retired senior judge and member of Britain’s House of Lords presided over the preliminary hearings, which are expected to be mostly procedural. She will decide whether the case will be heard by a jury, and whether the deaths of Diana and Dodi Fayed should be examined separately or together.

Under British law, inquests are held when someone dies unexpectedly, violently or of unknown causes.

Diana’s former private secretary, Patrick Jephson, said Monday that he hoped the inquest would put an end to conspiracy theories.

"At its best the inquest will show us that this sad matter is now settled and that we can concentrate on remembering the princess in an entirely positive light as Princes William and Harry obviously want us to," Jephson told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

The full inquest, which was swiftly adjourned in 2004 shortly after it began, is expected to take place later this year, nearly a decade after the couple were killed in a car crash in a Paris tunnel. The inquest could not be held until all investigations were completed.

A two-year French investigation, a three-year Metropolitan Police inquiry and repeated legal action by Fayed’s father, Harrods department store owner Mohammed al Fayed, have delayed the inquests by nearly a decade.

Al Fayed pressed the British authorities to hold Monday’s hearings in public and had threatened legal action if they did not.

The early hearings were originally going to be private, but Butler-Sloss decided otherwise, saying public interest in the case was overwhelming. Nearly 70 seats have been reserved for the media. An additional 50 seats have been set aside for the public, who will have to line up to see the early proceedings.

Late last year, a sweeping British police inquiry that cost nearly $8 million dismissed allegations that the princess was the victim of a murder conspiracy. The inquiry, headed by former Lord Stevens, the former chief of the Metropolitan Police, said the chauffeur in the 1997 crash was drunk and driving at a high speed to elude pursuing photographers. Stevens’ report largely confirmed previous findings by French investigators.

When the full inquest begins, Stevens’ report will "will assist in identifying the scope," according to the inquest’s Web site, but Butler-Sloss will assess what evidence is relevant and which witnesses to call.

Diana, 36, and Fayed, 42, were killed along with chauffeur Henri Paul when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont d’Alma tunnel on Aug. 31, 1997. The only survivor, bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, was badly hurt.

Mohammed al Fayed rejected Stevens’ report, calling it a cover-up.

"For nine years I have fought against overwhelming odds and monstrous official obstructions. I will not stop now in my quest for the truth," he said in a statement.

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On the Net:

Lord Stevens’ report: http://www.met.police.uk

Inquest home page: http://www.butler-sloss-inquests.gov.uk/index.htm