'£300,000 deal' for crash photos

Dramatic photographs taken by Romuald Rat of the injured Princess in the wreckage were sent to the Sun's picture desk that night.

Mr Rat, who the jury heard was the first paparazzo at the scene, was accused on Tuesday of keeping other people away from the Mercedes to protect his scoop.

Stephane Darmon, Mr Rat's motorcyclist on the night of Diana's death, said the photographer tried to "do something positive" for the crash victims by moving others away from the car.

But Richard Keen QC, counsel for the family of Diana's chauffeur Henri Paul, questioned his account. The lawyer asked Mr Darmon: "What Mr Rat was protecting was not the victims of this crash, but the £300,000 exclusive that he had just telephoned into the Sun from the tunnel, is that not the case?"

Giving evidence via videolink from Paris, the witness replied: "I don't know what to say to that."

The jury, sitting at the High Court in London, heard part of an interview obtained by the coroner last week from Channel 4.

Kenneth Lennox, from the Sun, said in the interview he was at home on the night of August 30 when he got a "slightly panicked" call. "The French-speaking photographer Romuald Rat said he had got photographs of Diana being involved in a car crash and I could have them exclusively for the UK for £300,000," he said in a transcript read to the jury.

"He said it was a serious crash. Dodi looked to be very badly injured. Diana looked to be very lightly injured, did not look too severely hurt at all.

"And he would get the photographs over to my electronic picture desk right now. I didn't waste time. I had to see these pictures, but in principle I said yes to buying them."