Involve Queen in Diana inquest - QC - News in brief

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They want the monarch to be "directly approached" over claims she told former royal butler Paul Burrell that there were "powers at work in this country which we have no knowledge about".

Mr Burrell, who previously worked for Diana, alleged after the collapse of his Old Bailey trial for theft in 2002 that the Queen issued her warning to him shortly after the Princess's death.

Michael Mansfield QC, representing Mr al Fayed whose son Dodi was killed alongside Diana in 1997, called for the Queen to be contacted about the matter. His request came during the first preliminary hearing for the inquest since Lady Butler-Sloss made the shock announcement last month that she is to quit as coroner in June.

Mr Mansfield said: "The inquiries which we suggest be made to assist is for Her Majesty being directly approached and asked was there evidence of conversations as alleged by Mr Burrell?"

He added that references to what the Queen is alleged to have said were edited out of the police documents Mr al Fayed's legal team had received.

He said: "Nobody appears to have approached Her Majesty about the content of the conversations. What we have noticed over the weekend is that these conversations with Her Majesty in the versions of statements by Operation Paget have been redacted."

Lady Butler-Sloss said they had been redacted at her request. "As far as Her Majesty is concerned, I don't know what the protocol is and whatever the protocol may be it should be observed," the coroner said. She added: "In as far as you're saying that Her Majesty should be directly approached, I think that's unheard-of."

She said they should tread carefully over what could be a constitutional matter. Lady Butler-Sloss said she was not saying Mr al Fayed's team could not have the edited passages, but she would not direct on the matter on Tuesday.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment. A spokeswoman said: "It's a matter for the Attorney General who is representing the Queen's interests as monarch."