Harrod's boss Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son died with Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997, has said he was abandoning his legal bid to prove that the couple was murdered
LONDON: Harrod's boss Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son died with Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997, has said he was abandoning his legal bid to prove that the couple was murdered in a conspiracy, drawing the curtain on the decade-old investigation into the incident.
A day after an inquest jury returned the verdict of unlawful killing due to "gross negligence" of the couple's driver and the paparazzi trailing their car, the Egyptian millionaire said he accepted the verdict but "with reservations".
He declared that "enough is enough" and said he would leave it to God "to get my revenge" on those who "murdered" the Princess and his son Dodi Al Fayed.
His statement comes after British Prime minister Gordon Brown issued a clear warning to the businessman to give up his fight and accept the jury's verdict because any further investigation into his allegations of murder plot masterminded by Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, and executed by British secret agents Mi6, could divert the resources of the security services from anti-terrorist work.
Referring to the statement issued by Diana's sons Princes William and Harry that they were satisfied with the verdicts, the Premier said: "I think they have spoken for the whole country when they say this is time to bring this to an end.
"And I believe also that our security services, who have cooperated with the inquiry to the fullest, have or would continue to be diverted from the important work they do if we have another rerun."
In an interview with ITN on Tuesday night, Mohammed Al Fayed said: "Enough is enough... for the sake of the two princes, who I know loved their mother," he said.
Al Fayed said: "I am sure they (the two Princes) are blessing in their deep heart what I'm doing to discover the truth. But I have had enough. I'm leaving the rest for God to get my revenge. I'm not doing anything any more... this is the end."
Still he was critical of the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, who he said, had failed to call Prince Philip as a witness and had not put a series of written questions to the Queen.
"I'm very grateful to the jury because the most important thing in their verdict is that they mention that it is not an accident, it's an unlawful killing. After meeting with my lawyers this afternoon, there are still a lot of options but I'm tired," he said.
Trevor Rees, the former bodyguard and sole survivor of the crash in the Parish underpass in August 1997, issued a brief statement agreeing with the verdict. "I hope this now represents a point from which everyone involved can move on."
In a 9 to 2 majority verdict, the jury ruled that driver Henri Paul was three times over the drink-driving limit and travelling at twice the speed limit, and gave the verdict that he and the pursuing photographers had unlawfully killed the Princess and Dodi Fayed through gross negligence. The coroner ordered that the conspiracy theory be ignored as there was no evidence to support it.
Meanwhile, Paul Burrell, Diana's butler, will not face perjury charges after the coroner disclosed that he would not be making an official complaint to police, despite earlier calling him a liar.
Lord Justice Scott Baker said he was "not minded" to render his evidence to the Metropolitan Police.
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