'500 pieces of crucial evidence withheld in Princess Diana inquest'

London, Aug 7 (ANI): A new book has revealed that there were at least 500 documents that were not revealed to the jury during Princess Diana inquest.

It contains the original official statements of witnesses who failed to attend the inquest, including the French pathologist Dominique Lecomte and toxicologist Dr Gilbert Pepin, who dealt with the bodies.

The inquest blamed drunk driver Henri Paul, but it is claimed blood samples used to verify the amount of alcohol he had consumed were taken from another corpse.

"My book reproduces more than 100 of the most critical documents and lists a further 400 documents that the jury should have had access to if they were ever going to be able to reach an informed verdict," The Daily Express quoted him as saying.

The author John Morgan believes his book, Diana Inquest: The Documents The Jury Never Saw reveals the need for a new inquest.

"Justice can only be achieved through an independent inquest held on French soil. The crash occurred in France and the witnesses are therefore French.

"An inquest that is capable of forcing the French witnesses to appear is the only way forward to establish the truth."

Both Lecomte and Pepin deny any abuse of the legal process or any errors in their work but the information would have been highly relevant to the inquest process.

"John Morgan has done more to expose the facts of this case than police in France and Britain," said Dodi's father, former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

"He has shown how the so-called investigators were more interested in covering up what really happened than honestly delving for the truth." (ANI)