Diana inquest has cost taxpayers a staggering £12.5m...and the cost is still rising

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The bill includes in excess of £4.5million for the six-month High Court inquest, £1.85million of which went on legal fees.

The cost of the hearing is still rising as its final days have yet to be added to the total.

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Huge cost: The inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi has cost taxpayers at least £12.5m

The bill for the inquest, which is met by the Ministry of Justice, comes on top of the £8million spent by the Metropolitan Police.

The force paid out an estimated £3.6million on an inquiry into Diana's death by the former Scotland Yard chief Lord Stevens.

It also had to fund the legal team who represented the force's commissioner at the inquest, as well as police protection for the jury.

The High Court hearing into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Fayed lasted more than 90 days and heard evidence from 268 witnesses.

A breakdown released by the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, shows the cost of witnesses giving evidence from France, the U.S. and even Nigeria, of video conferencing and "special visits" - mainly the jury's trip to Paris - was £703,000.

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Emotional: Mohamed Al Fayed believed someone plotted the crash

General costs - everything from pens and pencils to the hiring of tables and chairs - added £768,000.

The bill for the inquest's IT system was £677,000 and staffing, including the inquest's own barristers, solicitors and translators, came to £234,000.

In one case, funds were used to fly an official to Los Angeles to collect a tape recording of a telephone conversation between Dodi and his former girlfriend Kelly Fisher.

The remaining £110,000 went on 'consultancy fees', including reports from expert witnesses.

Not included in the £12.5million total are the legal bills for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and MI6.

Both government departments were legally represented at the hearing and face estimated combined costs of up to £250,000.