Operation Paget

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Operation Paget is an investigation by the Metropolitan Police that began in 2004 to investigate various conspiracy theories concerning the death of Diana, Princess of Wales , on August 31, 1997. The extensive report with the results of the investigation was published on December 14, 2006.

Preliminary investigation

The criminal investigation in the United Kingdom were initiated on January 6, 2004, when the Coroner of the Queen's Household, Michael Burgess, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, asked to hire research into allegations of a cover-up and conspiracy at MI6 , on behalf to have caused the British royal family the traffic accident in Paris, in which Diana and Dodi were killed.

background

The investigation was legally necessary; once the investigation into the circumstances of death in the UK began, it became apparent to the coroner that allegations had been made that a crime had occurred within the scope of UK law: namely, conspiracy to commit murder. Investigating magistrates have a legal obligation to give the police any information and evidence they come across concerning a suspected or actual crime. The investigation was based on public statements made mainly by Dodi Fayed's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed .

scope

While the investigation was initially limited to the general principles of the alleged conspiracy, it was soon expanded to include every related allegation in the media, in legal procedural motions, and in formal correspondence since the crash. The level of detail of the investigation is reflected in the scope of the 832-page report, which a team of experienced police officers took almost 3 years to compile.

Most of the documents from the previous French survey were in French, and an important step involved correctly translating the French dossier (6000 pages).

publication

The investigation report was presented to the media on December 14, 2006 by John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, at a press conference held at the Queen Elizabeth II Center . Stevens had retired as commissioner for the Metropolitan Police at the end of January 2005, but remained the chief investigator of Operation Paget. In addition to him, Dave Douglas (Detective Chief Superintendent), Paul Stephenson (Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police) and Dick Fedorcio (Director of Public Affairs) attended the conference to answer questions from the assembled press. Due to the public interest in Diana, the Metropolitan Police decided to publish the report on the Internet that same day, even though it had been created as an internal police document. The costs of the investigation amounted to 3.69 million pounds (approximately 5.3 million euros).

Summary

The individual chapter headings of the report are:

introduction
Chapter 1 - Relationship / Engagement / Pregnancy
Chapter 2 - Known Threats to Diana, Princess of Wales
Chapter 3 - Paparazzi Activities in Paris
Chapter 4 - Henri Paul - Security Officer at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and driver of the Mercedes
Chapter 5 - CCTV / (Traffic Surveillance Cameras ) in Paris
Chapter 6 - Mercedes Cars
Chapter 7 - Blocking vehicles / Unidentified vehicles / Bright lightning bolts (the drive to the Tunnel de l'Alma)
Chapter 8 - Medical care for Diana after the crash
Chapter 9 - The embalming of the body of the Princess of Wales in the Hôpital de la Salpêtrière
Chapter 10 - Activities of the French authorities
Chapter 11 - Activities of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office / British Embassy, ​​Paris
Chapter 12 - Activities of the UK authorities in light of the 'Suspicious Deaths'
Chapter 13 - Bodyguards of Mohamed Al Fayed (Trevor Rees-Jones, Kieran Wingfield and Reuben Murrell)
Chapter 14 - 'James' Andanson - French photojournalist and owner of a white Fiat Uno
Chapter 15 - Central Intelligence Agency / National Security Agency , USA
Chapter 16 - The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Security Service (MI5)

Inferences

Each chapter of the report concluded that all the conspiracy allegations made since the crash were baseless and all evidence available suggests that Diana and Fayed's deaths were caused by a tragic accident.

Investigation of the cause of death

Under English law , sudden or unexplained deaths require an investigation. The investigations began on January 8, 2007.

Preliminary examination

On April 3, 2007, the Deputy Coroner of the Queen's Household decided Baroness Butler-Sloss , allow for Mohamed Al-Fayed's lawyers access to the collected evidence in a criminal investigation under certain conditions to. On May 15, 2007 it was announced by Baroness Butler-Sloss that the underlying material, which had been compiled by the investigation team, amounts to over 11,000 printed pages, and also consists of more than 1,400 photographs, as well as some DVDs, large-scale Contains maps and other data. The content of these documents has been released to interested persons and legal teams.

In the final preliminary investigation hearing, Lord Justice Scott Baker identified twenty questions that the case would address:

  1. Whether driving errors on the part of Henri Paul justified the cause of the collision or contributed to it
  2. Whether Henri Paul's ability to drive was impaired by alcohol or other drugs
  3. Whether a Fiat Uno or any other vehicle caused or contributed to the collision
  4. Whether the actions of the paparazzi created or contributed to the cause of the collision
  5. Whether the course of the road / tunnel structure and construction were dangerous per se, and if so, whether this contributed to the collision
  6. Whether any bright / flashing lights caused or contributed to the collision, and if so, their origin
  7. Whose decision was that the Princess of Wales and Dodi Al-Fayed should set out from the side entrance to the Ritz and that Henri Paul should drive the car
  8. Henri Paul's whereabouts between 7 and 10 p.m. on August 30, 1997
  9. The statement for the money in Henri Paul's possession on August 30, 1997, as well as that in his bank accounts
  10. Whether Andanson was in Paris on the night of the collision
  11. Whether Diana's life could have been saved if she had reached the hospital earlier or if her medical treatment had been different
  12. Whether Diana was pregnant
  13. Whether Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed intended to announce their relationship
  14. Whether, and if, under what circumstances, the Princess of Wales feared for her life
  15. The circumstances surrounding the purchase of the ring
  16. The circumstances under which Diana's body was embalmed
  17. Whether Tomlinson's statement somehow illuminates the collision
  18. Whether British or any other intelligence agency had any involvement in the collision
  19. Whether something was sinister about (1) the break-in at Cherruault or (2) the breakdown at the Big Pictures agency
  20. Whether correspondence from the Princess of Wales (including that of Prince Philip) has disappeared, and if so, under what circumstances.

Investigation procedure

The investigation into the cause of death opened on October 2, 2007, and took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Lord Justice Scott Baker's opening statement was based largely on the evidence and findings of the Paget Report. On April 7, 2008, the jury came to the conclusion that Diana and Fayed had been 'unlawfully killed' as a result of 'gross negligence' by driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi. Contributing factors included 'the impaired judgment of the driver of the Mercedes Henri Paul due to' alcohol 'and the fact that none of the fatalities wore a seat belt.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chronology - Diana's death and its aftermath Reuters , accessed June 5, 2016.
  2. ^ Diana investigation took 3 years , accessed November 3, 2018.
  3. ↑ Met chief 'turned force around' , accessed October 30, 2018.
  4. ^ Operation Paget Report p. 2, accessed June 5, 2016.
  5. ↑ Investigation report: Diana died ordinary accidental death Focus , accessed on September 1, 2017.
  6. ↑ Diana police files 'to be shown' BBC News , accessed June 5, 2016.
  7. ↑ inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Fayed: Opening statement for a pre-Inquest Hearing , accessed on 5 June 2016th
  8. ↑ inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Fayed: pre-inquest hearing, List of Issues Likely , accessed on 31 August 2017th
  9. ↑ Diana inquest: £ 6 million closer to the truth , The Telegraph.Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  10. ↑ inquests into the Deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Fayed: FAQs , accessed on September 1, 2017th
  11. ^ Coroner's Inquest, Hearing transcripts: Verdict of the jury , accessed June 5, 2016.
  12. ↑ Diana Accident: Conspiracy theories are from the table FAZ , accessed on September 1, 2017.

Web links

Operation Paget

Investigation of the cause of death