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Princess Diana
FBI Files - British Prime Minister's Cabinet Office Files
153 pages of FBI files, British Prime Minister's Cabinet Office files, and legal filings concerning Diana Francis Spencer, Princess Diana..
A car, which left the Ritz Hotel in Paris, France, carrying Princess Diana on August 31, 1997 at approximately 12:30 AM, crashed into the thirteenth pillar inside a tunnel under Paris' Place d'Alma. Killed in the crash along with Princess Diana were Dodi Al Fayed, and Henri Paul, a French security officer who worked at the Ritz Hotel and was driving the car. British bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was traveling in the car and survived the crash.
A French magistrate, Premier Juge d"instruction Herve Stephan, was assigned to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident. Nine photographers and a press motorcyclist became the subjects of a formal investigation for manslaughter and failing to provide aid. The formal investigation is the procedural step before the filling of formal charges. The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by the drunk driving of Henri Paul, the excessive rate of speed the car was traveling, and dangerous road conditions. Judge Herve Stephan dismissed all the charges against the photographers and the motorcyclist.
FBI FILES
27 pages of FBI files covering Lady Diana, Princess of Wales. The files contain cursory information, such as a rundown on security arrangements made for a 1989 visit to the United States and a 1981 bomb threat.
Cabinet Office Files
65 pages of Cabinet Office files from August and September of 1997. Contains correspondences and memorandums between officials and politicians, including Prime Minister Tony Blair. Includes briefing made to Prime Minister Tony Blair on the details of Princess Diana's death. Documents dealing with funeral arrangements. One memo titled "Spending on the Funeral", comments, "I suspect something around œ5m will be the final figure - scarcely a deck on the Royal Yacht." One missive speculates about possible charges against the photographers. Memos give conflicting accounts of whether Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed switched cars as they left the Ritz hotel in Paris to divert paparazzi attention or because their first car failed to start. In a letter written to Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, British ambassador to Paris, Sir Michael Jay, wrote "Because, apparently, their getaway car failed to start they got into another nearby car driven by a Ritz driver." Sir Michael a couple of weeks latter wrote about the car switch as, "following a last minute change of plan aimed at diverting the waiting paparazzi." Documents indicate that British security services did not know the location of Princess Diana on the night of her death. The documents also detail how Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of Dodi Fayed, had hired a pathologist to challenge the results of the tests showing high levels of alcohol in blood samples from Henri Paul.
Legal Filings
61 pages of legal filings made by Mohammed Al Fayed, the father of Dodi Al Fayed, who died in the August 31, 1997, automobile crash that claimed the life of Princess Diana. Filings deal with two legal actions. A lawsuit filed in 2000 seeking documents, against the CIA, DIA, DOD, DOJ, Department of State, FBI, US Attorney, INS, and the Secret Service.
The complaint reads, "This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended, and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 702 et seq, for the expedited processing and disclosure of agency records pertaining to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, and events and individuals associated with the tragedy, that were improperly withheld from plaintiffs Mohammed Al Fayed and Punch Limited by defendants Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, theUnited States Departments of Defense, Justice and State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Executive Office of United States Attorneys, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Secret Service."
The fillings include various accusations, such as a statement that Henri Paul, the chauffeur killed in the crash, had been on the MI6 payroll and that the CIA was apart of an effort to defraud Mohammed Al Fayed. A second filling, made in 2001 is an appeal to a dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Al Fayed against individuals that Al Fayed claims tried to defraud him, by selling him fake documents concerning Princess Diana.
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