Judge labels butler Paul Burrell as a "liar by his own admission"

Apr 1 2008 by Haydon Wood, Liverpool Daily Post

THE Diana, Princess of Wales inquest coroner ruled out the possibility of a finding that she was murdered, saying there is “not a shred of evidence”.

Lord Justice Scott Baker also branded butler Paul Burrell a “liar” as he launch-ed a withering summary of the evidence in the six-month, multi-million pound case.

Laying out five options for the verdicts expected later this week, he ruled that a staged accident orchestrated by the Duke of Edinburgh could not be one of them.

Describing Mohamed al Fayed’s theories as “worth-less” without evidence to back them up, he urged jurors not to be swayed by sympathy.

And he revealed that even the Harrods tycoon’s own legal team had abandoned many of their client’s claims as they were “so demonstra-bly without foundation”.

Diana, her lover Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul were killed when their Mercedes hit the 13th pillar of the Alma Underpass in Paris on August 31, 1997.

As he began to summarise the evidence, the coroner remarked: “One of the regrettable features of this case is the number of people who it appears have told lies in the witness box or elsewhere.”

He said that former Cheshire resident Mr Burrell, photographer James Andanson and Mr al Fayed’s former head of security John Macnamara were all “liars by their own admission”. After giving evidence, Mr Burrell was secretly recorded saying he had laid some “red herrings”.

Paparazzi were in pursuit, but Dodi’s father Mr al Fayed has spent 10½ years vocally accusing the Duke of Edinburgh and MI6 of murdering them.

But the coroner revealed that, after hearing around 250 witnesses, the most the Fayed legal team was putting for-ward was that the Duke had helped create a “climate of hostility” toward the Princess.

“That, you may think, is a long way removed from an allegation that Prince Philip ordered the murder of Diana by MI6 with whom he secretly runs the country,” he said.

The five possible verdicts are:

Unlawful killing by grossly negligent driving by the paparazzi;

Unlawful killing through the gross negligence of Henri Paul;

Unlawful killing through grossly negligent driving of both the paparazzi and Mr Paul;

Accidental death;

Open verdict.

He said the jury could add a sentence to any verdicts to draw attention to further factors behind the tragedy such as drink-driving, speeding or failure to wear seatbelts.

The coroner warned the jury to take “particular care” over the statements of the paparazzi who refused to appear in person.

He noted they had been under criminal investigation when they gave their statements.

Defending the length and the cost of the inquest, the coroner said: “The benefit of these last six months is that various propositions that were being asserted have been shown to be so demonstrably without foundation that they are no longer being pursued by Mohamed al Fayed’s lawyers.”

The coroner will continue his summing up today.

He expects to send the jury out to consider their verdicts tomorrow.