Stevens must explain 'drunk'U-turn

The coroner described the alleged discrepancy as a serious "issue" for the inquest jury.

Lord Stevens, who led the £4 million Paget inquiry into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, met Mr Paul's parents in Paris last November. The court heard that he told them that after all his inquiries their son was not drunk when he died in the crash.

The coroner said: "There is an issue about the apparent discrepancy between what Lord Stevens said to the parents in Paris on 8 November 2006 and what was said in the Operation Paget report a few weeks later. On the one hand, Lord Stevens was telling the parents of Henri Paul he was not drunk, while on the other the Paget report concludes he was unfit to drive through drink.

"I anticipate Lord Stevens will give evidence that he was trying to reassure the Pauls that their son had not been 'as drunk as a pig' as had been alleged in some newspapers. It will of course be a matter for your own conclusions about Lord Stevens's explanations when he gives evidence to you."

He also told the jury they would have to consider claims of evidence that Mr Paul's blood samples had been contaminated or switched.

The coroner also spoke about the mystery of the £1,000 cash found in Mr Paul's pockets after the crash. Mr Paul was known to the French security services and is alleged by Mohamed Fayed to have been paid by MI6 in the alleged assassination plot.

Mr Paul had £170,000 in various bank accounts in cash and shares and regularly made large deposits and withdrawals. Modestly paid as the head of security of the Paris Ritz, he received major tips from rich clientele, the court heard.

But the coroner told the jury: "There is no evidence where the money came from or the purpose for which he had it."