The coroner at the inquest into the death of Princess Diana has told the jury there is “no evidence” Prince Philip ordered her death.
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Lord Justice Scott Baker began his summing up at the High Court today (31.03.08), telling the jury they had the options of concluding Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed died by accident, or because of gross negligence by the paparazzi or their driver Henri Paul.
He insisted many conspiracy theories suggested by Dodi’s father Mohamed about the deaths were “without foundation”.
The couple were killed in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, and Al Fayed claims they were murdered by Britain’s secret intelligence services on the orders of Diana’s former father-in-law Philip.
He believes they were killed because they were about to announce their engagement and Diana was pregnant. Speaking to the jury following six months of evidence, Lord Baker said many of Al Fayed’s theories about the crash were “so demonstrably without foundation” that even his lawyer was no longer pursuing them.
He added: “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 British secret intelligence service (MI6) on the orders of Prince Philip, 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.”
Of the alleged murder he said: “There are no doubt those who genuinely believe this to be the case and will continue to do so regardless of any verdict you return.
“You have heard the evidence and it is your decision that matters and not anyone else’s.”
Lord Baker gave the jury five verdict options:
– Unlawful killing by grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles (the paparazzi)
– Unlawful killing through the gross negligence of Henri Paul
– Unlawful killing by the grossly negligent driving of both the following vehicles and Henri Paul
– A verdict of accidental death could be returned if none of the previous verdicts are established
– The jury was also given the option of an open verdict.
