THE long-awaited report into the death of Princess Diana will systematically demolish every conspiracy theory surrounding it.
The 400-page report takes apart the claim by Mohammed Fayed, whose son Dodi also died in the crash, that the British secret service killed her because she was pregnant with Dodi's child.
Henri Paul, the chauffeur, while not "blind drunk", was more than three times over the French drink-drive limit, had traces of tranquillisers in his body, and was driving at up to 160kmh before the crash.
The investigators came to the following conclusions about Mr Fayed's theories about the death of Princess Diana and his son:
The murder plot:
The two secret servicemen alleged to have been involved were interviewed, and were not in Paris at the time. The car and Paul were last-minute substitutes to try to trick pursuing photographers. The route was random.
Diana was pregnant with Dodi's child:
Forensic tests taken on droplets of her blood in the car were found not to have the hormone levels of a pregnant woman.
Henri Paul's blood was switched in the laboratory:
New samples of his blood were taken by the inquiry, and compared with his parents' DNA, which confirmed a match.
The couple were secretly engaged:
Investigators put together the couple's final hours, talked to jewellers, Dodi's friends and a relative who spoke to him on the night of the crash who said Dodi was only thinking of proposing.
Did a white Fiat car in the underpass at the same time cause the crash?
Unexplained white paint was found on the wreck of the Mercedes, but an exhaustive database search of 112,000 Fiats never found the elusive car.
The report concludes that it was an accident caused by Henri Paul, who was drunk and driving too fast when he lost control.
The result of the two-year Operation Paget investigation by Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police commissioner, which will be published on Thursday, is a rebuff to Mr Fayed.
Police used advanced computer technology to reconstruct the crash scene and examined the Mercedes in painstaking detail.
Rosa Monckton, the princess's closest friend, told the inquiry that when they were on holiday together only 10 days before the crash, Diana's period had started.
Mr Fayed's claim he had been told Diana's final words by a nurse at the hospital where she died is also undermined by the statement to the inquiry from the hospital that the princess never regained consciousness.
An unrepentant Mr Fayed, the owner of the London department store Harrods, will challenge the findings, as the only comfort he can draw is that the report does not hold Henri Paul, his employee, solely to blame.
While the French investigators made light of the role of the pursuing paparazzi, Lord Stevens maintains that the deadly chase with the photographers was a contributory factor.
Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry have been distressed by the repeated public claims of Mr Fayed that the royal family was behind her death.
The report makes clear that any hired assassins would have had to know the details of the couple's movements, but the car she died in was a last-minute substitute to trick photographers, and the route was random.
The report will be examined by Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, a former senior judge, before she begins an inquest next month into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.
Telegraph, London
The 400-page report takes apart the claim by Mohammed Fayed, whose son Dodi also died in the crash, that the British secret service killed her because she was pregnant with Dodi's child.
Henri Paul, the chauffeur, while not "blind drunk", was more than three times over the French drink-drive limit, had traces of tranquillisers in his body, and was driving at up to 160kmh before the crash.
The investigators came to the following conclusions about Mr Fayed's theories about the death of Princess Diana and his son:
The murder plot:
The two secret servicemen alleged to have been involved were interviewed, and were not in Paris at the time. The car and Paul were last-minute substitutes to try to trick pursuing photographers. The route was random.
Diana was pregnant with Dodi's child:
Forensic tests taken on droplets of her blood in the car were found not to have the hormone levels of a pregnant woman.
Henri Paul's blood was switched in the laboratory:
New samples of his blood were taken by the inquiry, and compared with his parents' DNA, which confirmed a match.
The couple were secretly engaged:
Investigators put together the couple's final hours, talked to jewellers, Dodi's friends and a relative who spoke to him on the night of the crash who said Dodi was only thinking of proposing.
Did a white Fiat car in the underpass at the same time cause the crash?
Unexplained white paint was found on the wreck of the Mercedes, but an exhaustive database search of 112,000 Fiats never found the elusive car.
The report concludes that it was an accident caused by Henri Paul, who was drunk and driving too fast when he lost control.
The result of the two-year Operation Paget investigation by Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police commissioner, which will be published on Thursday, is a rebuff to Mr Fayed.
Police used advanced computer technology to reconstruct the crash scene and examined the Mercedes in painstaking detail.
Rosa Monckton, the princess's closest friend, told the inquiry that when they were on holiday together only 10 days before the crash, Diana's period had started.
Mr Fayed's claim he had been told Diana's final words by a nurse at the hospital where she died is also undermined by the statement to the inquiry from the hospital that the princess never regained consciousness.
An unrepentant Mr Fayed, the owner of the London department store Harrods, will challenge the findings, as the only comfort he can draw is that the report does not hold Henri Paul, his employee, solely to blame.
While the French investigators made light of the role of the pursuing paparazzi, Lord Stevens maintains that the deadly chase with the photographers was a contributory factor.
Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry have been distressed by the repeated public claims of Mr Fayed that the royal family was behind her death.
The report makes clear that any hired assassins would have had to know the details of the couple's movements, but the car she died in was a last-minute substitute to trick photographers, and the route was random.
The report will be examined by Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, a former senior judge, before she begins an inquest next month into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.
Telegraph, London
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