New hunt for Diana clues

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Investigators in the Paris tunnel. .

Police today began a new reconstruction of the crash that killed Princess Diana.

Scotland Yard detectives in Paris used special equipment to examine the area where her Mercedes smashed into a tunnel wall in 1997.

The officers worked through the night, mapping the crash scene with the latest cameras and laser scanners.

They will then make a three-dimensional model of the Pont d'Alma tunnel. This will allow them to fully test for the first time all the theories about how she died.

Former Metropolitan police commissioner Sir John Stevens continues to head the inquiry into the accident.

He said his team are using "state-oftheart" computer graphics and software to re-create the exact conditions and factors of the crash.

Detective Superintendent David Douglas, speaking at the scene, said it was hoped to learn exactly what happened. "The model will enhance understanding of the factors which may have contributed to the collision," he said.

More than a dozen officers were at the tunnel for more than eight hours after it was shut to traffic at nine last night.

Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and their chauffeur, Henri Paul, died when their car crashed shortly after leaving the Ritz Hotel on 31 August, 1997.

The only other person in the car, Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, was severely injured and has no memory of the crash.

The exhaustive French inquiry found that Mr Paul was drunk and was speeding at the wheel of a car he did not normally drive when he lost control. The Mercedes smashed into a concrete pillar in the tunnel.

However, Mr Fayed's father, Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed, continues to claim that the couple were murdered by British intelligence.

In recent months Sir John and his team have been interviewing officers from MI6 in connection with the claims.

Mr Fayed and Mr Paul's parents also dispute the French findings regarding the alcohol and drug levels in the driver's body.

There are claims that his blood sample was switched before it was tested by specialists.

Legal action in French courts on this issue has delayed the British police team's inquiry which is being carried out on behalf of a UK coroner.

Sir John also planned to interview Prince Charles this summer, though it is not known if the recently announced wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles has changed these plans. At present, investigators have no plans to bring the wrecked car to London.

Accident specialists have examined the vehicle and hope that the computer model will mean it is unnecessary to ship the vehicle from France.

After the accident, the car was taken to a forensic laboratory at Rosny-sous-Bois near Paris where it was examined after being dismantled.

It now lies in bits in two shipping containers at an industrial estate south-east of Paris. An inquest into the Princess's death opened in the Britain last year but was adjourned for Sir John to begin an investigation into the accident.

Sir John is still technically in charge of the investigation but was not in Paris last night, Scotland Yard said.

He travelled to the French capital to visit the scene of the crash in April last year and made it clear that he is determined to get to the bottom of conspiracy theories surrounding Diana's death.

"We have to try and do everything we can one way or another to draw a line under this inquiry," he said. "There are a lot of conspiracy theories surrounding the tragic deaths of these three people.

"It is my job to report to the coroner every single aspect of this investigation in order to prove or dispense with these theories once and for all."

Sir John's team have already interviewed 1,200 witnesses and hope to conclude inquiries before the end of the year when an inquest into Diana's death will recommence.

 

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