Diana's bodyguard: 'Henri Paul's drinking caused the crash'

Former bodyguard Trevor Rees was quoted on US breakfast show Good Morning America saying: "The accident happened because Henri Paul was taking alcohol and was driving the vehicle. That's why the accident happened."

His voice was used as part of a report on the inquest by the ABC News network's correspondent in London.

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Mr Rees's comments come days after the start of the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Fayed, who were killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997 along with Mr Paul.

His words are bound to infuriate Dodi's father, Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed, who has accused his former employee of working for the secret intelligence services.

Mr Rees, who was then known as Rees-Jones, suffered multiple injuries in the crash and left Mr Fayed's employment a few months afterwards.

He is expected to give evidence to the inquest at the High Court.

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The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, has said Mr Rees-Jones has little memory of what happened in the Mercedes driven by Mr Paul and events immediately before the crash.

But he has potentially crucial evidence of the final hour leading up to Diana and Dodi leaving the Ritz hotel, in Paris, in the bungled security operation.

He will be asked to tell who had formed the plan to divert the paparazzi outside the front of the hotel and take the couple out of the rear entrance to drive off to Dodi's flat with Mr Paul - who had been off duty for three hours and was not licensed to drive the vehicle - at the wheel.

Fellow personal security guard Kez Wingfield has insisted the plan was Dodi's and that both he and Mr Rees-Jones opposed it because it was fraught with danger and the princess's security could not be assured.

He says their objections were overruled by Dodi who said the plan had been approved by his father.

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However Mr Fayed says he was never informed of the plan and blames the bodyguards for putting his son and the princess at risk.

The inquest jury was shown haunting footage of Diana's final moments captured on CCTV cameras at the hotel.

Mr Rees is seen in the footage in conversation with Mr Paul.

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Mr Rees wrote a bestselling book after the crash but has maintained that he could not remember key details about the final moments after sustaining head injuries.

He did, however remember witnessing Mr Paul drink two Ricards in the Ritz bar.

Mr Fayed has maintained that Mr Paul was not drunk and the blood samples that showed he was twice the legal drink-drive limit had been switched or contaminated by secret agents.

The footage shown to the inquest jury this week appeared to show that in the moments before driving the Mercedes Mr Paul did not look drunk. He is seen tying his shoe laces with no evidence that alcohol had led to impairment of his movement.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, newspaper reports claimed Mr Paul was as "drunk as a pig".

And despite the Paget report into the crash concluding that Mr Paul's driving had been impaired by drink, the author of the report, former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens, told Mr Paul's parents their son was not drunk.

The case - that will last six months - is not sitting before the jury today.

Lord Justice Scott Baker will travel to Paris with the jury on Monday where they will re-enact Diana's final journey.