Car 'tried to slow down' Diana
Witness Oliver Partouche reported seeing a car 'blocking' Princess Diana's vehicle
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Wednesday, 24, Oct 2007 03:47
A vehicle was attempting to slow down Princess Diana's Mercedes car so paparazzi could take pictures, an inquest into her death has heard today.
Eyewitness Olivier Partouche told the inquest into the princess' death that a dark car was in front of the royal's vehicle as it entered the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris and formed a "compact group" with motorcyclists.
Mr Partouche - addressing London's high court via video link from Paris - told the jury he was standing at the side of the road leading up to the tunnel when he saw Princess Diana's car travelling "very, very fast", adding that a "Ford Mondeo-style" saloon car was in front of the princess' Mercedes.
"I was just of the impression of a kind of a group, with, in the front of the group, the car, and the motorcycles just behind at the same speed," he said.
Mr Partouche was originally interviewed by police two hours after the crash that claimed the lives of the princess, her companion Dodi Al Fayed and driver Henri Paul on August 31st 1997.
In his original statement, he told police the princess' vehicle had been travelling at 93mph, but today in front of coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker he admitted it may have been slightly slower.
Mr Partouche - a chauffeur - mentioned "the blocking vehicle" saying "clearly this car was trying to make the Mercedes slow down".
"The object of the manoeuvre was to make it possible for the paparazzi to take photographs," he added.
However, in a statement given to a French magistrate examining the case on September 12th 1997, Mr Partouche said: "The vehicle in front of the Mercedes did not perform any dangerous manoeuvres on the road to prevent it getting past."
He today explained the apparent inconsistency in his statements by saying that while he had had the impression that the vehicle in front of the princess' car was trying to block or slow down the Mercedes, he told the examining magistrate he could not be certain if this had been intentional, according to court transcripts released on the Scott Baker inquest website.