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Diana inquest begins amid controversy

LONDON: The now-on-now-off inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and her boy friend Dodi Fayed finally, began here on Tuesday amid a dispute over Dodi’s father Mohammed al-Fayed’s demand for members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, to be summoned to give evidence.

Mr. Fayed, owner of Harrods, insists that Diana and his son, who were killed in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, were victims of a “conspiracy” allegedly involving the Royal Family and British secret services.

Reiterating his demand, as the inquest opened at the High Court, he said he was convinced that Diana and Dodi were “murdered”.

“I’m hoping for justice, I’m a father who lost his son. I have been fighting for 10 years, at last I want to have justice,” he said.

Mr. Fayed wanted the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles, among others, to be called to give evidence claiming that shortly before her death, Diana had expressed concern about threat to her safety and spoken of the Royal Family’s allegedly hostile attitude towards her.

An official police inquiryfound no evidence of a foul play in the deaths of Diana and Dodi.

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