Diana inquest, Driver headed for bar hours before crash

London, Oct 4 (UNI) The driver of the car in which Princess Diana was killed was caught on camera heading towards the bar at the Ritz Hotel hours before the crash, an inquest jury probing her death heard today.

CCTV footage showed Mr Henri Paul making his way to the bar Vendome at the Paris hotel, a couple of hours before midnight, the Daily Mail reported.

Bodyguards of Princess Diana, Trevor Rees (formerly known as Rees Jones) and Kes Wingfield were already there at the bar.

The jury has already heard that Mr Paul ordered two Ricards that night after his return to the hotel after 10pm.

Diana and Dodi were driven away from the Ritz by Mr Paul at around 20 minutes past midnight on August 31,1997.

Mr Paul was not a chauffeur, although he was trained in driving.

The jury has heard already that blood tests showed Mr Paul was over the drink-drive limit at the time of the crash.

Mohamed al Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed insists Mr Paul was not drunk and that the samples were switched.

An inquest into the death of Princess Diana finally opened on October 2, 10 years after she was killed in a car crash along with Dodi Fayed, when their Mercedes, driven by chauffeur Henri Paul, crashed in a Paris underpass.

UNI