Al Fayed inquest plea to Diana bodyguard

By Marc Baker

HARRODS boss Mohamed Al Fayed has urged Princess Diana’s former bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones to give evidence at her inquest.

Mr Rees-Jones, 49, marked the 10th anniversary of the Princess’ death by refusing to say whether he would speak at her inquest in October.

After Princes William and Harry led a memorial to their late mother’s memory, Mr Al Fayed said it was time for people with vital evidence to come forward. A spokesman for Mr Al Fayed was commenting on the decision of Mr Rees-Jones to refuse to reveal whether he would attend the Princess’s inquest or not.

Asked if he would give evidence, a spokeswoman for the former paratrooper said: “We are not commenting further.

“Trevor Rees-Jones wishes to state that he will not be conducting any media interviews or making any further statements relating to or arising out of the events of August 31, 1997.

“He asks for his privacy, and particularly that of his family at this time, and in the future, to be respected.”

But Mr Al Fayed’s spokesman Michael Cole insisted people with evidence should come forward.

He said: “It is a matter for the coroner but anybody who has relevant information should be willing and ready to come forward to help the process of the inquest.

“Anyone with relevant information should be willing to give evidence.”

As the only survivor of the crash, Mr Rees-Jones’ evidence is vital in unravelling the mystery which surrounds the deaths of Diana, 36, and Dodi, 42, on August 31, 1997.

When they left Mr Al Fayed’s Paris Ritz Hotel, the guard sat in the front seat of the Mercedes.

Mr Rees-Jones, who at the time was living in Oswestry, broke every bone in his face and suffered terrible chest and head injuries in the incident. He was unable to give a coherent account of what he remembered for months afterwards.

Initially, Mr Rees-Jones swore driver Henri Paul had not been drinking before transporting Diana and Dodi Fayed from the Paris Ritz Hotel.

But just two years later in his book, The Bodyguard’s Story, he blamed the accident, which left the couple and Henri Paul dead, on a lethal combination of alcohol and speeding. Mr Al Fayed’s plea for Mr Rees-Jones to give evidence is based on his desire to understand why the bodyguard changed his testimony over the tragedy. It also follows accusations, never proven, that Mr Rees-Jones may have been “got at” after initially giving a version of events which may have backed up claims that the crash was orchestrated in an Establishment plot.

Mohamed Al Fayed maintains the couple were murdered as part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the Royal Family and their aides. The accusation has always been denied.

Recently, Mr Rees-Jones has been working as a private security advisor in Iraq.

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