Cost of Diana probes passes £12.5m

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

New figures show the bill for the long-running Diana inquest now stands at £4.5 million, but this is likely to increase as the hearing's last few days are not included.

After the hearing ended last week, the Metropolitan Police said it had spent £8 million in total on services arising from the inquest and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006.

The inquest into the deaths of Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed, who were fatally injured in a Paris car crash in 1997, lasted more than 90 days and heard evidence from about 250 witnesses.

The jury returned a verdict that the "People's Princess" and her boyfriend had been unlawfully killed.

The figures revealed that taxpayers shelled out £1.85 million for "external legal services", or lawyers' fees between July 1 last year and March 31.

Running costs were £768,000, video conferencing and special visits totalled £703,000, the bill for IT was £677,000 and staffing cost £234,000.

In one case, funds were used to fly an official to Los Angeles to collect a tape of a telephone conversation involving Dodi and his ex-girlfriend, Kelly Fisher. The inquest also spent £110,000 on consultancy fees.

A poll published last week found more than three quarters of people thought the inquest was a waste of money.

The survey for BBC2's Newsnight found 78% of people thought the funds had not been well spent. Just 19% of those questioned believed the inquest was worth it to discover the truth.