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'Diana was pregnant' - Al Fayed Diana 'murdered', Al Fayed says
(about 1 hour later)
Princess Diana told Mohamed Al Fayed she was pregnant, the Harrods owner said at the inquest into her death and that of his son, Dodi. Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were murdered, Mohamed Al Fayed has told the inquest into their deaths.
The claim came as he began his evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice. He made the claim about the fatal Paris car crash as he began his evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice.
He told the jury: "Diana told me on the telephone that she was pregnant. I am the only person they told." The Harrods boss also said Diana had told him she was pregnant. "I am the only person they told," he said.
Mr Al Fayed has long maintained the princess and his son were murdered in a conspiracy involving the security services and the Duke of Edinburgh. Mr Al Fayed said he would "make no allegations", but said Princess Diana "knew Prince Philip and Prince Charles were trying to get rid of her".
Conspiracy theory
The couple died, along with driver Henri Paul, when their car crashed in Paris on August 31, 1997.The couple died, along with driver Henri Paul, when their car crashed in Paris on August 31, 1997.
For four months, the inquest has looked at evidence behind many of Mr Al Fayed's claims. 'Devastating note'
She told me that she knew Prince Philip and Prince Charles were trying to get rid of her Mohamed Al Fayed class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7248639.stm">Profile of Mohamed Al Fayed In his evidence, Mr Al Fayed branded Prince Philip a "Nazi" and a "racist" and said: "It's time to send him back to Germany from where he comes."
On Monday, Mr Al Fayed told the jury that Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were "murdered". "You want to know his original name - it ends with Frankenstein," he added.
He said he would not make allegations, but added: "Princess Diana told me personally before and during the holiday we shared in July 1997 of her fears. The Harrods boss also raised concerns about a note written by Diana's divorce lawyer Lord Mishcon after an October 1995 meeting. It outlined her fears there was a plot to kill her in a car crash.
"She told me that she knew Prince Philip and Prince Charles were trying to get rid of her." My belief (they) were murdered was confirmed when I learned Lord Condon and Lord Stevens did not show the coroner the note Mohamed Al Fayed class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7248639.stm">Profile of the Harrods boss
He said French intelligence had helped British intelligence services to execute "the murder". Lord Mishcon passed it on to police when the princess died in 1997, and after a meeting with the then Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon.
Mr Al Fayed has long said his son told him in a phone call that he and Diana were soon to announce their engagement. The police agreed to hand it to the coroner only after Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, produced a note from the Princess making similar allegations in the Daily Mirror in October 2003. By that time, Sir John Stevens led the Met.
He believes a cordial friendship with the Royal Family soured once Diana and Dodi's relationship became public. Mr Al Fayed said: "My belief that my son and Princess Diana were murdered was confirmed when I learned that the two leading commissioners - Lord Condon and Lord Stevens - did not show the coroner the note made by a leading lawyer, Lord Mishcon, detailing the princess's fears for her life."
They could not accept an Egyptian Muslim as stepfather to the future King of England - so a conspiracy, involving MI6 and Prince Philip, was hatched to murder the couple, he says. He said they "acted unprofessionally" and "must have no conscience".
The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, has already outlined Mr Al Fayed's allegations to jurors. The note was "devastating" and explained Diana's fears in "black and white", he said.
He told them: "It's his belief that a decision was taken to kill both Diana and Dodi. He places Prince Philip at the heart of the conspiracy. Wooden box
"You will have to listen carefully to the witnesses you hear to see whether there is any evidence to support this assertion." Mr Al Fayed also told the jury that Diana told him she was pregnant in a telephone call, and that the couple said they were engaged.
Arriving for the inquest, Mr Al Fayed said: "I've been fighting for 10 years. This is the moment for me to say exactly what I feel happened to my son and Diana. He read out a statement detailing his main concerns about the crash, and the points he felt the inquest should address.
"With God's help I hope the truth will come out." Diana told him she kept a wooden box and if anything happened to her, the contents should be made public, he said. But it had not been kept safe by Diana's butler Paul Burrell, or her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale.
He also said blood samples apparently taken from Mr Paul after his death did not belong to the driver.
He felt the murder was likely to have been carried out by photographer James Andanson, who has since died, on the orders on the security services.