Princess Diana's death an accident-police probe

LONDON, Dec 14: Princess Diana was not the victim of a murder plot when she died in a tragic car accident in 1997, a British police inquiry ruled today.

Diana's death triggered a string of conspiracy theories that British spies or even her ex-husband, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, had plotted the accident because her relationship with Dodi al Fayed was embarrassing the royal household.

''On the evidence available now, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of that car. This was a tragic accident,'' former police chief John Stevens said after a three-year investigation.

Echoing the findings of a French probe into the accident, Stevens said the limousine's chauffeur Henri Paul had been drunk and was driving too fast when he crashed in a Paris road tunnel.

''I'm satisfied that no attempt has been made to hold back information and we are confident that the allegations made are unfounded,'' he said.

Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, said in a statement that they ''trust these conclusive findings will end speculation surrounding the death of their mother''.

Stevens told reporters Diana was not pregnant when she died and ''was not engaged and was not about to get engaged''.

The death of the ''People's Princess'', the world's most photographed woman, sparked an outpouring of grief in Britain.

Queen Elizabeth and the royal family were harshly criticised for not openly sharing the national sense of loss.

The British investigation was ordered by former royal coroner Michael Burgess in January 2004 when he opened a British inquest into Diana's death.

Stevens, who headed London's police force, spent almost three years investigating what happened and interviewed Charles for several hours as part of his inquiry.

He also talked to Prince Charles's father, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Stevens said there was no evidence to link the Duke to Britain's intelligence service MI6 as alleged by Dodi's father, Mohamed al Fayed.

''CLOSURE'' ''I very much hope that all the work we have done and the publication of this report will help to bring some closure to all who continue to mourn the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, Dodi al Fayed and Henri Paul,'' Stevens said in his report. Even before it was published, Mohamed al Fayed had railed against its findings, calling them ''outrageous'' and claiming Stevens had been blackmailed by British intelligence chiefs into ruling out foul play.

The Harrods department storeowner, who wants a public inquiry into the crash, believes his son and Diana were murdered by British secret services in August 1997 because their relationship was embarrassing the British royal family.

Stevens said investigators had used computer modelling to assemble a 3D reconstruction of the crash scene, to an accuracy of within one centimetre.

He said the car was travelling at excessive speed. It hit the 13th pillar in the underpass at 97.6 to 100.8 kph, about twice the speed limit.

Paul had about a blood alcohol level around twice the British drink-drive limit at the time of the crash.

Stevens was satisfied, from DNA testing, the samples tested did indeed belong to Paul, contrary to suggestions they may have been switched.

Stevens said investigators did believe there had been ''glancing contact'' between the Mercedes limousine and a white Fiat Uno car, whose driver has never been traced.

He noted failure to assist a person in danger is an imprisonable offence in France, and this may have deterred people from coming forward.

REUTERS