Diana crash drink evidence 'strong'

Professor Peter Vanezis said he still had "nagging doubts" about the validity of blood tests taken from Mr Paul's body after the car smash in 1997 in which Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed.

But he conceded, at her inquest in London, that there were "consistencies" between various other samples from the body.

The jury heard that a report the eminent forensic medical sciences professor later co-authored concluded Mr Paul had an alcohol problem.

It also suggested that, as a heavy drinker, he may have appeared normal on the night of the crash because he had a higher tolerance than the "average man".

Tests found that Mr Paul, who was at the wheel at the time of the crash on August 31 1997, was three times the French drink drive limit.

The Harrods owner - whose son Dodi was killed along with Diana and Mr Paul - disputes the results. He claims samples may have been switched at the Paris morgue to cover up a murder plot orchestrated by intelligence services.

The professor was hired on behalf of Mr al Fayed two days after the crash to question the initial results which were already in the public domain. He was presented at a Harrods press conference in London a few days later offering his expert opinion that the blood alcohol readings might not be reliable.

Other evidence cited at the time included CCTV footage from the Ritz Hotel showing Mr Paul walking around apparently unimpaired by drink - even tying his shoe lace - just hours before the tragedy. But bar receipts from the hotel suggest he purchased two large measures of Ricard, a strong aniseed spirit.

The court heard that the two measures would have been stronger than four UK shots of whisky.