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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Diana inquest told of Fiat owner | Diana inquest told of Fiat owner |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Princess Diana inquest has been told of police interviews with the owner of a white Fiat Uno, who was working as a photo-journalist. | |
| Jean-Pierre Andanson told police he had stopped using the car in 1995, but did not sell it until October 1997, after the crash in which the princess died. | Jean-Pierre Andanson told police he had stopped using the car in 1995, but did not sell it until October 1997, after the crash in which the princess died. |
| He said that damage to the rear left of the vehicle was the result of "someone hitting me on a roundabout". | He said that damage to the rear left of the vehicle was the result of "someone hitting me on a roundabout". |
| Mr Andanson, who died in 1999, said he was in Corsica on the day of the crash. | Mr Andanson, who died in 1999, said he was in Corsica on the day of the crash. |
| Ex-police major Jean-Claude Mules told the inquest of the interviews. | Ex-police major Jean-Claude Mules told the inquest of the interviews. |
| Speaking by video link, Major Mules told the court that Mr Andanson came to see him in his office in Paris in response to a summons. His written statement was read to the court. | Speaking by video link, Major Mules told the court that Mr Andanson came to see him in his office in Paris in response to a summons. His written statement was read to the court. |
| Corsica | Corsica |
| He said he did 372,000 kilometres in the Fiat Uno and stopped using it in 1995, after which he handed it over to his mother-in-law, who insured it for another year, after which it remained parked until he sold it in October 1997 for 5,000 francs. | He said he did 372,000 kilometres in the Fiat Uno and stopped using it in 1995, after which he handed it over to his mother-in-law, who insured it for another year, after which it remained parked until he sold it in October 1997 for 5,000 francs. |
| On 31 August 1997, the day of the crash, Mr Andanson said he was at his home 177 miles south of Paris, before leaving at 4am by car, to get to Orly airport and catch a plane three hours later for Corsica, according to Major Mules. | |
| Mr Andanson showed French police an expenses sheet and receipts for toll roads and plane tickets. All were billed to his own credit card, except for the flight to Corsica which was bought using his wife's card. | Mr Andanson showed French police an expenses sheet and receipts for toll roads and plane tickets. All were billed to his own credit card, except for the flight to Corsica which was bought using his wife's card. |
| The jurors have been told of evidence that the Mercedes in which the princess was travelling collided with a white Fiat Uno seconds before it crashed into the 13th pillar of the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. | |
| Payments | |
| Later, financial investigator Paul Laffan told the inquest that seven payments each of 40,000 French francs (around £4,000) into driver Henri Paul's bank account were "unexplained." | |
| Henri Paul had "unexplained" payments in his bank accounts. | |
| The payments were made over nine weeks between May and August 1997. Combined with other transactions, Mr Paul lodged the equivalent of £43,683.73 in the months leading up to his death, the court heard. | |
| Mr Paul, who drove the car in which he, Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were killed, was paid around £21,000 a year by Mahomed Al Fayed's Ritz Hotel in Paris, where he was the acting head of security. | |
| After his death he was found to have around £171,000 in cash and shares in various accounts. | |
| Mr Al Fayed believes Mr Paul was secretly in the pay of spies who ordered him to drive that night even though it was not his usual job. | |
| On Monday Mr Paul's parents dismissed this idea, saying their son occasionally received "large one-off tips" from wealthy Ritz guests. | |
| Dividends | |
| Asked to account for the payments during Tuesday's inquest Mr Laffan replied: "It's definitely unexplained, we don't know whether he was getting these types of deposits for last five or six years." | |
| The court was also told that Mr Paul received dividends from shares and rented out a flat for which he appeared to get cash payments. | |
| Mr Laffan said he had compiled a list of 26 unanswered questions, including the issue of whether Mr Paul had been a member of a casino. But he twice emphasised the fact that he had not been told whether Mr Paul received expenses payments from The Ritz. | |
| Last year, the jury heard that Mr Al Fayed himself used to make cash payments directly to Mr Paul. | |
| Mr Laffan added that he had not had the chance to see Mr Paul's tax return or probate. | |
| Mr Al Fayed's barrister Michael Mansfield QC asked Mr Laffan: "If the French authorities really wanted to get to grips with what Henri Paul was up to the first thing you would do is get hold of all his accounts from all the bank accounts and look at the pattern?" | |
| Mr Laffan replied: "Which I think they did do, they just didn't go far enough back." |