Fayed 'blamed Duke for death crash'

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The Harrods tycoon rushed to Paris by jet on hearing of the crash in which his son was killed in the early hours of August 31 1997.

Bodyguard Kes Wingfield said that he had broken the news that the Princess had also passed away as he accompanied Mr al Fayed to his car at Le Bourget airport.

"As we were moving off, the boss exploded, making a couple of allegations," Mr Wingfield told the High Court hearing. "He said something like 'I hope the British Government and Prince Philip are happy now'. At first I thought I had misheard him, so I turned round in my belt and said: 'Sorry, sir, what was that?' And he said: 'I hope the British Government are happy now ... They have caused this'.

"I said: 'That's not the case, sir, no one would have wished this,' and he sort of slumped back in his seat and I turned around and we continued with the journey."

Mr al Fayed's barrister, Michael Mansfield QC, asked Mr Wingfield: "So you knew from that stage that in these tragic circumstances that was his reaction and belief at that point?"

But he replied: "No, sir. I think ... what I thought at the time was it was just an explosion of grief."

Mr Mansfield asked whether it had been an explosion "couched in particular terms?" He replied: "You would have to ask Mr Fayed."

The inquest heard in December that, within seconds of hearing of the crash, Mr al Fayed had declared it a "plot". Ritz Hotel president Frank Klein told how he telephoned his boss to break the news as soon as he was informed. Mr Klein recounted: "He said to me: 'Frank, this is not an accident. This is a ...' I think he said like a plot or an assassination."

He said his boss had added: "Frank, I know more than you think."