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| 'No suggestion' of Diana murder | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| French police investigating the car crash which killed Princess Diana never suggested it was anything other than a tragic accident, her inquest has heard. | |
| Retired Scotland Yard Detective Chief Superintendent Jeff Rees acted as the main liaison with officers in Paris. | |
| He said he repeatedly asked them about the possibility of foul play, but "the answer was always an unequivocal 'No'." | |
| Earlier, a friend of Diana's said she had insisted she needed marriage to Dodi Al Fayed "like a rash on my face". | |
| Lady Annabel Goldsmith, 73, said Diana was having a "wonderful" time with Mr Al Fayed and felt "she had never been so spoiled", but an engagement was not planned. | |
| Diana and Mr Al Fayed were killed along with their driver Henri Paul in a car crash in Paris in 1997. | Diana and Mr Al Fayed were killed along with their driver Henri Paul in a car crash in Paris in 1997. |
| 'Buried before sunset' | |
| Mr Al Fayed's father Mohamed believes his son and Diana were murdered by the security services because she was pregnant. | |
| But Mr Rees told the High Court that neither Mr Al Fayed nor his security chief said or implied to him that the deaths had been caused deliberately. | |
| I said to her laughably, 'You are not going to do anything silly are you?' Lady Annabel Goldsmith | |
| Mr Rees was in charge of organising activities at Fulham mortuary where the couple's bodies were taken after being returned to the UK. | |
| "I expressed my condolences to Mr Al Fayed and he implored me to do whatever I could to speed up the process at the mortuary, because it was important for religious reasons that the body was buried before sunset that day," he said. | |
| Mr Rees denied he was recruited as liaison by then Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner David Veness to help cover up any possibility that the crash might have been suspicious. | |
| He said he had maintained an "open mind" about what he called an "unprecedented situation". | |
| And he said no-one at Scotland Yard had ever suggested to him that the deaths might be suspicious | |
| Diana expression | |
| Earlier on Monday, Lady Annabel told the inquest Diana had rubbished rumours of marriage to Mr Al Fayed shortly before her death. | |
| She said: "It had been splashed all over the papers. I said to her laughably, 'You are not going to do anything silly are you?' | She said: "It had been splashed all over the papers. I said to her laughably, 'You are not going to do anything silly are you?' |
| Former Det Ch Supt Jeff Rees liaised with French police | |
| "I meant, 'You are not going to do anything silly like rushing off and eloping or getting married,' and she said, 'I would need marriage like a rash on my face.' | "I meant, 'You are not going to do anything silly like rushing off and eloping or getting married,' and she said, 'I would need marriage like a rash on my face.' |
| "It was a very Diana expression." | "It was a very Diana expression." |
| When asked about the comment, Lady Annabel said: "She might have been having a wonderful time with him, I'm sure, but I thought her remark that she needed marriage like a rash meant that she was not serious about it." | When asked about the comment, Lady Annabel said: "She might have been having a wonderful time with him, I'm sure, but I thought her remark that she needed marriage like a rash meant that she was not serious about it." |
| She said she was sure Mr Al Fayed was "a very nice fellow", but was concerned about how fast their relationship was moving. | She said she was sure Mr Al Fayed was "a very nice fellow", but was concerned about how fast their relationship was moving. |
| "I put it to her because I thought, 'Gosh, I'm reading all these lurid details about her and she is very impulsive,' and I didn't think she had known him long enough, but it was a jokey remark meaning, 'Are you serious or are you not?"' | "I put it to her because I thought, 'Gosh, I'm reading all these lurid details about her and she is very impulsive,' and I didn't think she had known him long enough, but it was a jokey remark meaning, 'Are you serious or are you not?"' |
| "I think I was just trying to find out what was on her mind and she answered in that one short sentence. | "I think I was just trying to find out what was on her mind and she answered in that one short sentence. |
| "End of conversation. Last conversation ever," Lady Annabel said. | "End of conversation. Last conversation ever," Lady Annabel said. |
| Phone number | Phone number |
| I'm confident, on the face of it, that she would not have been [pregnant] Lady Annabel Goldsmith | |
| Lady Annabel also said it was "impossible" that Diana could have been pregnant when she died. | |
| "There was a reason for that [belief]," she said, without elaborating. | "There was a reason for that [belief]," she said, without elaborating. |
| "I'm confident, on the face of it, that she would not have been [pregnant]." | "I'm confident, on the face of it, that she would not have been [pregnant]." |
| She also said the princess had been "in love" with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan and was "sad" about their break-up which had been some time before February 1996. | She also said the princess had been "in love" with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan and was "sad" about their break-up which had been some time before February 1996. |
| Lady Annabel said Diana kept changing her mobile phone number, probably because she wanted to avoid speaking to certain people. | Lady Annabel said Diana kept changing her mobile phone number, probably because she wanted to avoid speaking to certain people. |
| But she said the princess had never mentioned anything about believing her conversations were being bugged. | But she said the princess had never mentioned anything about believing her conversations were being bugged. |
| The inquest continues. | The inquest continues. |