Diana inquest: Fayed's lawyers push for full disclosure

LONDON: Any undisclosed material from police interviews with Britain s Prince Charles should be released before an inquest into the death of Princess Diana can take place, a coroner was told Wednesday. At a preliminary hearing to the inquest, lawyer Michael Mansfield told coroner Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss it was vital to see all documents that went into compiling a British police report into the 1997 Paris car crash. Mansfield is representing Mohammed al-Fayed, the owner of Harrod s department store in west London, whose son Dodi was killed alongside the princess and their French chauffeur, Henri Paul. Al-Fayed senior has refused to accept the conclusions of the British police report by Lord John Stevens which was published last December. He has dismissed its conclusions that the crash was a tragic accident caused by a drunk driver traveling too fast saying it was a cover-up and garbage . The Egyptian-born tycoon maintains the couple were killed as part of a British establishment plot by Queen Elizabeth II s husband, Prince Philip, and the security services opposed to her potentially marrying a Muslim. Mansfield told London s High Court on Wednesday there was much in Stevens report that could be challenged and it was necessary to refer to unused documents, including notes from interviews with Diana s ex-husband. Until that was done, he could not elaborate on his client s claims of an assassination plot, and allegations that Diana was pregnant with Dodi s child at the time they died. Mansfield called for the release of all statements, pre-statement notes, interview notes, notes taken or made even when no statement was given, messages, memoranda, actions, correspondence, exhibits and other documents underpinning the material referred to in the report . He also wants access to all material relating to the failed prosecution of Diana s former butler, Paul Burrell, and the fears she allegedly expressed to him about her future safety and the attitude towards her of the royal family. There was a need for openness, fairness and transparency in such a high-profile case and to do so would allay public fears and restore public confidence in procedures , Mansfield said in a written submission. There can be no doubt that the relevant facts which must be fully, fairly and fearlessly investigated and exposed to public scrutiny include those matters related to the issue of whether there was a conspiracy to murder, he added.At a previous hearing on March 5, Butler-Sloss cast doubt on Fayed s allegations, saying she had not yet seen a shred of evidence to suggest Diana was the victim of an establishment plot. The inquest proper is due to start in October.