Judge in Princess Diana inquiry steps down

LONDON: A former senior British judge, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, on Tuesday resigned as the coroner heading the inquest into the death of Princess Diana and her Egyptian boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed.

Butler-Sloss, 73, promised a smooth handover to her successor Lord Justice Scott Baker in June, saying she was quitting in the interests of the inquest 'after a great deal of thought and reflection'.

"This inquest now requires a jury and I do not have the degree of experience of jury cases that I feel is necessary and appropriate for presiding over an inquest of this level of public interest," she said.

In January, she said she would head the inquest on her own, but in March, the High Court ruled in favour of Fayed's
father Mohammed, insisting that the inquest into their deaths must be heard by a jury.

Fayed senior, the millionaire owner of Harrod's department store, claims the couple's deaths were part of a plot by the British establishment opposed to the mother of the future king marrying a Muslim.

Not to have a jury would confirm his suspicions of a cover-up, he said.

Butler-Sloss, who has said she had not yet seen a 'shred of evidence' to back charges of such a plot, said she will step down in June when Lord Justice Scott Baker will take over.

"I must stress this does not require a fresh start for the inquest," she said. "I will continue to preside over the pre-inquest hearings until Lord Justice Scott Baker takes up the appointment in June.