Burrell's confession: I copied Diana's letters without her consent

The man Diana called her "rock" was forced to tell her inquest that he covertly made handwritten notes of her correspondence while he worked for her.

This included copying private letters sent to her by other members of the Royal Family, including Prince Philip and Princess Michael of Kent.

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After Diana's death, many of these letters made their way into the two lucrative books he wrote about his life with the Princess, which made him a millionaire.

His confession appeared to stun the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, who asked him tartly: "Did you ask the Duke of Edinburgh if he agreed to you doing this before you did it? Do you think it would have been a more decent thing to do?"

The shamefaced former royal servant replied: "On reflection, then, perhaps I should have done, my lord."

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During Mr Burrell's third day in the witness box - initially he was scheduled to appear for one - he was subjected to a brutal cross-examination, which saw him ridiculed as a man who was willing to take Diana's secrets to the grave - "subject to publication and syndication rights".

"Are you perhaps a rather porous 'rock', Mr Burrell, given how much leaked out into letters, interviews and books?" mocked Richard Keen, barrister for the parents of dead chauffeur Henri Paul.

Mr Keen referred to a letter written to Diana by her next-door neighbour at Kensington Palace, Princess Michael of Kent, in 1996, which was subsequently published in Mr Burrell's book, A Royal Duty.

"You transcribed those passages from her (Diana's) correspondence without her knowledge or consent, didn't you?" Mr Keen asked Mr Burrell.

"Without her knowledge or consent," the butler replied.

As Mr Keen continued, Mr Burrell begged the coroner to intervene, saying: "It seems like it's a character assassination."

Asked why he betrayed his employer's confidences, Mr Burrell insisted that he was privy to all the letters Diana received and she often opened them with him.

He made notes of her letters because he wanted to keep a "historical record" of a "very important period of the Princess's life".

He said he had had no intention of writing a book at the time, adding that he sent his jottings to America for "safekeeping" because, like the Princess, he was fearful of them falling into "the wrong hands".

He would not even entrust his letters to the Palace postal system, taking them to his local sorting office.

Earlier in the day, Mr Burrell, who appeared close to tears when he left the court, told the jury that although Diana was "obsessed" with Dodi Fayed, who also died in the car crash, he believed the relationship was nearing its peak.

He said: "It was a very fast-moving relationship; it had a very short fuse.

"Very often relationships did that in the Princess's world. She became infatuated, obsessed with someone, and then grew tired of them. I felt that this relationship was heading in that direction."

Mr Burrell also referred to the jewellery Dodi had lavished on Diana, saying: "The Princess had exquisite taste. My opinion is that she would have found it rather gaudy and lacking of taste."

The Attorney General last night declined to intervene to stop the BBC's Newsnight broadcasting a discussion on whether the Diana inquest is a waste of time.

Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker had earlier warned the BBC to "tread carefully" amid concerns that such debates could be construed as contempt of court.

But a spokesman for Baroness Scotland said the Attorney General was not taking any action over the segment, due to be aired last night.

• The Queen was concerned about Diana's relationship with Dodi Fayed, Mr Burrell told the inquest yesterday.

He said: "Her Majesty was concerned that the princess was rather over-excited. Her Majesty was concerned about the future."

He had begged the coroner not to force him to recall his talks with the Queen but Lord Justice Scott Baker snapped: "I don't think you are in a position to tell us what you are going to tell us and what you are not going to tell us."

Mr Burrell also said he found "very unlikely" claims by Mohamed Al Fayed that Prince Philip called Dodi an "oily bedhopper", adding: "I can't possibly think the Duke of Edinburgh would say that."

• The police's relationship with Diana was "tense and difficult" during her marriage split from Prince Charles, former Metropolitan Commissioner Lord Condon told the inquest.

Lord Condon revealed that the Princess believed police were bugging her calls and had placed a tracking device in her car.

He vehemently denied claims that his decision to keep secret a note in which Diana predicted she would be murdered in a staged car crash was part of a wider cover-up.

He said of the crash: "It was a tragic accident . . . and I am not aware, and I am on oath, of anything that would take away from that finding."