Sunday, December 24, 2006

Conspiracy theories rebuffed on Diana's death

The British police inquiry report examines all the allegations of wrongdoing in the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed.

Allegation: Mohammed al-Fayed said his son and Diana were involved in a serious relationship and intended to get engaged.
Conclusion: The inquiry found no evidence that Diana was to be engaged or has selected a ring.

Allegation: Mr. al-Fayed alleged Diana was pregnant with his son's child.
Conclusion: Tests on a blood stain from the carpet of the crashed car, confirmed to be Diana's, found no evidence of pregnancy, the inquiry said. Only Mr. al-Fayed says Diana told him she was pregnant. There is no other evidence she thought she might be pregnant.

Allegation: Members of the Royal Family, Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, and foreign intelligence agencies were involved the deaths.
Conclusion: The inquiry said Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles, his father Prince Philip, and Prince William co-operated with the investigation. The inquiry found "no evidence" to support Mr. Fayed's assertion that Philip was directly involved in a conspiracy to killed the princess. The inquiry quoted some of Diana's friends as saying she never feared Charles or his entourage.The inquiry categorically dismissed the role of MI5 in Diana's death. The report said Henri Paul, the driver, was working for the French intelligence as a "low-level informant of sorts." But it found no evidence to substantiate claims that U.S. intelligence monitored Diana's phone calls. The inquiry was not allowed to see the 39 files related to Diana held by the National Security Agency, but it quoted the agency's policy director, Louis Giles, as saying none of the files was relevant to the crash. The report concludes that the spying allegations were "a very difficult thing to prove or disprove."

Allegation: A white Fiat caused the Mercedes to crash.
Conclusion: There was a glancing contact between the Mercedes and a white Fiat Uno just before the tunnel. It is "very unlikely" that the car will ever be located.

Allegation: Photojournalist James Andanson, who owns a Fiat Uno, committed suicide because of guilt over his involvement in or knowledge of the deaths.
Conclusion: Mr. Andanson, who did own an Uno, was interviewed by French police and was not implicated, said Robert Stevens, who led the inquiry. Mr. Andanson committed suicide in 2000 and his offices were burgled shortly afterward. There was no evidence he was murdered or that he was involved with any security service.

Allegation: Blood samples from Mr. Paul, the driver, were switched to make it appear he was drunk.
Conclusion: The blood samples match Mr. Paul's DNA, and show that he had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.

Allegation: British authorities have developed a bright flash weapon designed to temporarily blind a driver with the intent of causing a crash, and such a device might have been used.
Conclusion: British authorities do not have such a weapon, and there is no evidence of blinding flashed at the time of the crash.

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