Diana Inquest Witnesses Branded "Liars" as Jury Gets Instructions

The judge in the seemingly endless public inquest into the death of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed has instructed the coroner's jury on the verdicts they can deliver. Branding several witnesses liars, Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker said there was not "a shred of evidence" that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh ordered Diana's death or that the British secret services were involved. He told the jury they could choose among five possible verdicts:

• Unlawful killing by grossly negligent driving of the paparazzi in the following vehicles
• Unlawful killing through the gross negligence of the driver Henri Paul
• Unlawful killing by the grossly negligent driving of both the following vehicles and Mr. Paul
• A verdict of accidental death, if none of the previous verdicts are established
• An open verdict

The last, which means the jury is unable to deliver a verdict, would no doubt fuel years more conspiracy speculation, but it is also an unlikely outcome to the many months long inquiry.

The inquest, which lasted nearly six months, and involved the testimony of nearly 250 witnesses, cost about £3 million. An earlier police investigation cost about £4 million, bringing the total likely cost to the British taxpayer to more than £7 million.

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