Police investigating new information on deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed

Scotland Yard assessing relevance and credibility of new details on fatal 1997 Paris crash

Undated file photo of Princess Dianna as the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed are being looked at again by police after they received information. Photograp: John Stillwell/PA Wire
Undated file photo of Princess Dianna as the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed are being looked at again by police after they received information. Photograp: John Stillwell/PA Wire

New information which has been passed to the police relating to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed is thought to include an allegation that they were murdered by a member of the British military, it emerged tonight.

Scotland Yard said it is "scoping" the information and "assessing its relevance and credibility".

It is understood the allegation was made by the former parents-in-law of a former soldier based on information that the ex-soldier talked about in the past, according to a military source.

It is believed the information was passed to the Metropolitan Police through the Royal Military Police.

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A statement issued by Scotland Yard said: “The Metropolitan Police Service is scoping information that has recently been received in relation to the deaths and assessing its relevance and credibility.

“The assessment will be carried out by officers from the specialist crime and operations command.

"This is not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget. "

Police said they are not prepared to discuss the matter further, while a royal spokeswoman said there will be no comment on the matter from Prince William or Prince Harry, or from Clarence House.

Diana, Dodi and chauffeur Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in the tunnel, which left the Ritz Hotel on the morning of August 31st 1997.

The hearing into the deaths of Diana and Dodi lasted more than 90 days with evidence from around 250 witnesses.

The inquests concluded on April 7th 2008, with a jury returning a verdict that the pair were unlawfully killed.

After the hearing, Metropolitan Police said they had spent £8 million on services arising from the inquest and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006.

That money includes the cost of the legal team which represented the force’s commissioner at the inquest, police protection for the inquest jury and paying for the Paget inquiry, reported to have cost £3.6 million.

Former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens's Paget investigation was launched in 2004 at the request of Michael Burgess, the Royal Coroner, who was then overseeing the future Diana inquest.

The former top policeman published his report in December 2006, rejecting the murder claims voiced by some, including Dodi’s father Mohamed al Fayed.

PA