UK/FILE: Mohamed al Fayed rejects British police inquiry that ruled Princess Diana's death in a car crash in 1997 was an accident

Princess Diana was not the victim of a murder plot when she died in a tragic car accident in 1997, a British police inquiry ruled on Thursday (December 14). Diana's death triggered a string of conspiracy theories that British spies or even her ex-husband, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, had plotted the accident because her relationship with Dodi al Fayed was embarrassing the royal household. "There was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of that car. This was a tragic accident," former police chief John Stevens said after a three-year probe into Diana's death in a Paris road tunnel. Stevens told reporters Diana was not pregnant when she died and "was not engaged and was not about to get engaged". Diana, Fayed and their chauffeur Henri Paul died when their limousine hit a pillar in the Paris road tunnel in August 1997. The death of the "People's Princess", the world's most photographed woman, sparked an outpouring of grief in Britain. Queen Elizabeth and the royal family were harshly criticised for not openly sharing the national sense of loss. A two-year French inquiry blamed the crash on Paul, saying he was drunk, under the influence of anti-depressants and driving too fast. The top-level British investigation was ordered by former royal coroner Michael Burgess in January 2004 when he opened a British inquest into Diana's death. Stevens, who headed London's police force, spent almost three years investigating what happened and interviewed Charles for several hours as part of his inquiry. He also talked to Prince Charles's father, the Duke of Edinburgh. Stevens said there was no evidence to link the Duke to Britain's intelligence service MI6 as alleged by Dodi's father, Mohamed al Fayed. "I lay no blame at anyone's door," Stevens said. Even before the report was published, Mohamed al Fayed had railed against its findings, calling them "outrageous" and claiming Stevens had been blackmailed by British intelligence chiefs into ruling out foul play. The Harrods department storeowner, who wants a public inquiry into the crash, believes his son and Diana were murdered by British secret services because their relationship was embarrassing the British royal family. At a news conference after the reports release Al Fayed told reporters that Diana had confided in him that she thought she was in danger "She was the person who have conveyed to me all her suffering, all the devastation of the threats she had in her life in the last 20 years she was living in the royal family environment.I know what she told me, three hours before she died, I know what my son told me before they, the plan been executed," Al Fayed said. Stevens said investigators had used computer modelling to assemble a 3D reconstruction of the crash scene, to an accuracy of within one centimetre. He said the car was travelling at excessive speed. It hit the 13th pillar in the underpass at 61 to 63 miles per hour (97.6 to 100.8 kph), about twice the speed limit. Paul had about a blood alcohol level around twice the British drink-drive limit at the time of the crash. Stevens was satisfied, from DNA testing, the samples tested did indeed belong to Paul, contrary to suggestions they may have been switched. Stevens said investigators did believe there had been "glancing contact" between the Mercedes limousine and a white Fiat Uno car, whose driver has never been traced. He noted failure to assist a person in danger is an imprisonable offence in France, and this may have deterred people from coming forward.

ITN Source | December 15, 2006

Tags:. .pregnant. .photographed. .henri. .blamed. .sparked