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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Photographer snubs Diana inquest | Photographer snubs Diana inquest |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The first photographer on the scene of the car crash which killed Princess Diana 10 years ago will not give evidence, her inquest has heard. | The first photographer on the scene of the car crash which killed Princess Diana 10 years ago will not give evidence, her inquest has heard. |
| Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker told the jury that Romuald Rat had written to the inquest refusing to appear. | Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker told the jury that Romuald Rat had written to the inquest refusing to appear. |
| Mr Rat wrote that he "was not prepared to give evidence by video link or at all, either today or any other day". | Mr Rat wrote that he "was not prepared to give evidence by video link or at all, either today or any other day". |
| He also described claims that he phoned the Sun newspaper offering pictures from the crash for £300,000 as "a lie". | |
| "Defamatory allegations" | |
| Diana, her companion Dodi Al Fayed, and driver Henri Paul died as a result of the crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997. | Diana, her companion Dodi Al Fayed, and driver Henri Paul died as a result of the crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997. |
| Earlier evidence given at the London inquest heard allegations that instead of stopping to help, Mr Rat phoned from the tunnel offering exclusive pictures of Diana in the wreck. | |
| But Mr Rat described the allegations as "defamatory" in an email to author Martyn Gregory. | |
| He said he would be attentive to his "honour" and said the French court of appeal had found seven years ago that he had stopped to help. | |
| He wrote to Mr Gregory, author of the book Diana: The Last Days: "This allegation is a total lie and defamatory and I will be very attentive in respect of my honour." | |
| Lost appeal | Lost appeal |
| The allegation came in an interview given by Kenneth Lennox, the former picture editor of the Sun, to the makers of a Channel 4 documentary. | |
| Notification of his absence comes a day after the coroner lost a legal bid to have testimony from paparazzi involved in the case read to the jury. | Notification of his absence comes a day after the coroner lost a legal bid to have testimony from paparazzi involved in the case read to the jury. |
| Lord Justice Scott Baker lodged an appeal on Friday challenging a High Court ruling which prevented the inclusion of statements from French photographers who pursued Diana on the night she died. | Lord Justice Scott Baker lodged an appeal on Friday challenging a High Court ruling which prevented the inclusion of statements from French photographers who pursued Diana on the night she died. |
| He had sought to include the written testimony after French authorities ruled they would not force the paparazzi to appear at the inquest in person. | He had sought to include the written testimony after French authorities ruled they would not force the paparazzi to appear at the inquest in person. |
| But Lord Justice Waller, sitting with Lord Justice Dyson and Lord Justice Latham, said the appeal had been dismissed and the reasons for the decision would be given in a written judgement later. |