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Police 'begged to protect Diana' | Police 'begged to protect Diana' |
(10 minutes later) | |
Diana, Princess of Wales, would still be alive if she had retained her police protection, a former chief policeman has said. | Diana, Princess of Wales, would still be alive if she had retained her police protection, a former chief policeman has said. |
Lord Condon, Britain's chief police officer when she died, said he had begged her to reinstate her protection. | |
But despite numerous meetings she had refused to change her mind. | But despite numerous meetings she had refused to change her mind. |
He said: "If, as my wish, she would've had police protection in Paris, I'm absolutely convinced those three lives would not have been tragically lost." | He said: "If, as my wish, she would've had police protection in Paris, I'm absolutely convinced those three lives would not have been tragically lost." |
"Her problem with protection was, sadly, that she did not have police protection. I wish she had," he added. | |
The princess had first indicated she wanted to have her protection removed, in December 1993, the former Metropolitan Police commissioner said. | |
I have often thought back, if that had not been the sequence of events I might have demanded face-to-face meetings with her Lord Condon | |
A series of meetings had then taken place, up to January 1994, the court heard. | |
Lord Condon added he had attended a "critical" meeting on 14 December 1993, in which he had said he was "really concerned" the security was going to be removed. | |
The peer was himself involved in a serious accident the following day and then remained unavailable for about three and a half to four weeks. | |
He said: "I have often thought back, if that had not been the sequence of events I might have demanded face-to-face meetings with her. But I honestly don't think it would have changed her mind." | |
Princess Diana died after the car she was in crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997. | Princess Diana died after the car she was in crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997. |