Branded 'liar' by coroner, Burrell may now face perjury inquiry

Published on Monday 7 April 2008 23:02

PAUL Burrell, the former royal butler, could face a perjury investigation following the completion of the Diana inquest.

The servant turned reality television star was publicly branded a "liar" by the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, as he summed up the case last week.

During three gruelling days in the witness box in January, Burrell – famously called Diana's "rock" – was mocked as a "porous rock" given his publishing record.

But it was only later that he found himself so firmly in the spotlight.

After returning to the US, Burrell was secretly recorded in a New York hotel admitting he had not told the "whole truth". "I was very naughty, and I laid a couple of red herrings," he said.

Speaking openly about the possibility of perjury – which he denied – Burrell conceded he had "f****d" his integrity.

The coroner subsequently demanded that he return to explain himself, but Burrell refused, sending a statement in which he claimed that he had simply been drunk and showing off.

A spokesman for the coroner said it was not within his remit to investigate perjury, and he had no plans to refer the matter.

Scotland Yard said any action it would take with regard to allegations of perjury "would not be dealt with until conclusion of the inquests".

With the verdicts finally returned, Burrell could yet find himself back under scrutiny.

THEY WERE 'DISGUSTING'

WITNESSES damned as "disgusting" the behaviour of the paparazzi on the night Diana, Princess of Wales, died, as the photographers took pictures of the bodies in the crushed Mercedes.

But the number of vehicles, whether they were cars or motorbikes, the number of people in them and what part they played in the crash were all points of contention.

All except one of the paparazzi refused to attend the inquest, making it even more difficult to piece together events that night.

Their police statements, read out in court, should be treated with caution, the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, warned.

They had been taken in the aftermath of the 1997 crash while they were suspects in French criminal investigations.

Fifteen photographers were arrested, including seven at the tunnel.

They were investigated for manslaughter or failing to assist the victims. The case against them was dismissed in 1999.

Some took shots from less than two metres away, with the dead and seriously injured clearly visible.

They took photographs as passers-by tried to help, when the rescue services were on the scene and as the bodies were removed.

HE took 'too many risks'

HENRI Paul, 41, died instantly behind the wheel of the armoured Mercedes on 31 August, 1997, a car he was not trained to drive.

He had worked for the Fayed family for 11 years and was deputy head of security at the Htel Ritz Paris, owned by Mohamed al– Fayed.

Mr Paul's parents, Jean and Giselle, claimed tests would clea their son of drink-driving. After Mr Paul's blood alcohol content level was found to be more than three times the drink-driving limit under French law, his parents and Mr Fayed disputed the results.

During evidence at the inquest, photographer Jacques Langevin said the paparazzi did not have a deal with Paul about meeting Diana and Dodi's car at the back of the Ritz.

The inquest heard that Mr Paul apparently thought he was off-duty later in the evening and spent some time drinking, including two glasses of the aniseed spirit, and he gestured to photographers as he left.

The inquest heard that one photographer said Mr Paul, a former air force officer, took "too many risks" on the final journey.