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Hearings in Diana death

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana and her boy friend Dodi Fayed in a Paris car crash 10 years ago were circulating again on Monday as a retired judge started preliminary hearings ahead of an inquest into the case. Dodi's father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, owner of Harrods, who attended the hearing reiterated his allegation that Diana and his son were victims of a murder "plot'' by the royal family and intelligence agencies. He dismissed the report of a three-year-long British police investigation into the case as a "whitewash.'' The inquiry led by John Stevens, former chief of Metropolitan Police, concluded in its report last month that the fatal car crash in a Paris underpass on August 31, 1997 was simply a "tragic accident'' as the driver Henri Paul was heavily drunk. Mr. Al-Fayed described the report as a "cover-up'' . He insisted that the jury at the inquest should be drawn from the public and not consist of members of the royal household. In what was seen as a victory for Mr. Al-Fayed, the judge indicated that the jury would be drawn from ordinary people.

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