Diana and Dodi inquest under way

Tuesday, 2 October 2007

The inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Al Fayed has begun at London's High Court.

A jury of six women and five men has been selected for the hearing, which could last six months. They were chosen by ballot from a shortlist of 25.

Throughout the case, jurors will be escorted to and from court by police.

The princess and Mr Al Fayed died in a car crash in the Pont d'Alma tunnel, in Paris, on 31 August 1997.

Untarnished truth

Arriving at the High Court, Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, said he wanted justice for his dead son.

"I'm hoping for justice, I'm a father who lost his son. I have been fighting for 10 years, at last I want to have justice."

The Harrods boss added that he remained convinced that the princess and his son were "murdered".

Speaking earlier, a spokesman for Mr Al Fayed called for members of the Royal Family to give evidence at the hearing.

Michael Cole told GMTV this was the "last best chance to get at the plain untarnished truth".

"At stages in her life the only person Diana could talk to in confidence in the Royal Family was the Queen," he said.

"She has an unrivalled knowledge of the princess' state of mind."

Selection process

Last Thursday, some 227 candidates for jury service were summoned by letter to London's Royal Courts of Justice, but only 80 turned up.

The 80 were handed a list of 10 questions ordering them to reveal any connections to the Royal Family, Mohamed Al Fayed, or the security services.

The final panel of 11 jurors was selected on Tuesday by ballot from a potential 25 and their names were read out by a court official.

During last week's proceedings, coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker said the deaths of Princess Diana and Mr Al Fayed had "created worldwide interest on an unprecedented scale".

"Millions of words have been spoken and written. There are numerous books, television programmes, articles that have been published, some by those who are closely involved in surrounding events and some not," the coroner said.

But jurors would be required to come to a decision based only on court evidence, he added.

"If there are any articles in the newspapers, do not read them, and if there are any television programmes about the death of Diana or any news items about these inquests, you should not look at them," he told the 80 candidates.

In the second week of the hearing, the jury will be flown to Paris to retrace Diana's final journey.