Times online article.
The coroner hearing the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, faced demands last night that he bring it to a close after it emerged that ten members of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, have been summoned to give evidence.
Senior peers and MPs called on Lord Justice Scott Baker to reconsider his decision. Whitehall officials said that they were astonished that ten MI6 officers had been requested to appear.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, said: I think its a total waste of time and money. The extraordinary performance of [Mohamed Al] Fayed has turned the whole thing into a circus.
The presence of the officers was requested by lawyers for Mr Al Fayed. Lord Foulkes said that they had no option but to appear. He added: I think the coroner should now seriously consider stopping the inquest.
The unprecedented appearance of so many MI6 officers at a legal hearing is due to take place next week. Sir John Adye, the former director of GCHQ, the Governments signals intelligence centre in Cheltenham, has also been summoned.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former MI6 chief, appeared yesterday and dismissed as utterly ridiculous claims by Mr Al Fayed that his agency had plotted the 1997 car crash that killed the Princess and his son Dodi.
Another member of the committee that monitors the intelligence and security services, Dari Taylor, Labour MP for Stockton South, said: The security services are severely overworked. We understand Mr Fayeds grief. But he has got to accept at some stage that there was nobody involved in his sons and Princess Dianas death. It was an accident. There is no evidence that suggests anything other than that.
There has got to be a stage at which someone persuades him to stop this persistent demand that somewhere along the line this was a conspiracy. There was no conspiracy.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that it remained standard government policy neither to confirm nor deny [NCND] whether any individual has/had any connection to the UK intelligence and security agencies. But in this case, the office decided to make a statement. The decision to give evidence on points relevant to these inquests represents a rare exception to the NCND policy, it said.
Denis MacShane, a former Foreign Office minister, said: Fayed and his legal team are going too far. To put servants of the country, whose identities should be protected, into this farcical proceeding is actually threatening their individual security. This is not only a farce, it is a contemptible abuse of British law and a scandalous waste of public money.
Gerald Butler, a retired senior circuit judge at the Old Bailey, told The Times: On the face of it, it seems bizarre. Calling so many MI6 officers one can only presume that the coroner is satisfied they can add something valuable. I cant imagine what it is.
Mr Butler, who was brought out of retirement in 2004 to hold a fresh inquest into the deaths of 13 black youngsters in a fire at a house party in South London in 1981, added: Maybe the judge knows something we dont know, but surely enough is enough.
The involvement of serving members of MI6 at the inquest will necessitate elaborate security measures to ensure that none of them is identified. The media and public will only be able to hear their evidence via an audio link. The ten, who include some former members of the Secret Intelligence Service, will be referred to only by letter or number and will give their evidence anonymously.
A former senior intelligence official said that giving evidence would be very disruptive and highly unproductive for MI6 and the officers involved, but that it was vital that the public was reassured that everything was being properly investigated. Its important that no one gets drawn into believing that theres any truth in the conspiracy theory, he said. Provided the officers are treated properly, their identities are not revealed and they are not bullied when giving evidence, its something which has to be done so that no one can ever again be attracted to the idea of there being a conspiracy behind the deaths.
Since the inquest was formally opened three years ago, three coroners have been in charge of proceedings; the Royal Coroner, Michael Burgess, and Baroness Butler-Sloss, who both stepped down from the job, and Lord Justice Scott Baker.
It has cost 6 million so far, including 1 million on lawyers and 3 million on security, with each juror escorted to court each day. About 370,000 has been spent on video conferencing and special visits. Witnesses have given evidence from France, the US and Nigeria.
MI6 officers are seldom called upon to give evidence in court. By contrast, members of MI5 have increasingly been required to give evidence at terrorist trials because of their involvement with the police in investigating alleged plots. Sir John Adye, who is giving evidence at the inquests next Thursday, was head of GCHQ between 1989 and 1996.
The coroner hearing the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, faced demands last night that he bring it to a close after it emerged that ten members of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, have been summoned to give evidence.
Senior peers and MPs called on Lord Justice Scott Baker to reconsider his decision. Whitehall officials said that they were astonished that ten MI6 officers had been requested to appear.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, said: I think its a total waste of time and money. The extraordinary performance of [Mohamed Al] Fayed has turned the whole thing into a circus.
The presence of the officers was requested by lawyers for Mr Al Fayed. Lord Foulkes said that they had no option but to appear. He added: I think the coroner should now seriously consider stopping the inquest.
The unprecedented appearance of so many MI6 officers at a legal hearing is due to take place next week. Sir John Adye, the former director of GCHQ, the Governments signals intelligence centre in Cheltenham, has also been summoned.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former MI6 chief, appeared yesterday and dismissed as utterly ridiculous claims by Mr Al Fayed that his agency had plotted the 1997 car crash that killed the Princess and his son Dodi.
Another member of the committee that monitors the intelligence and security services, Dari Taylor, Labour MP for Stockton South, said: The security services are severely overworked. We understand Mr Fayeds grief. But he has got to accept at some stage that there was nobody involved in his sons and Princess Dianas death. It was an accident. There is no evidence that suggests anything other than that.
There has got to be a stage at which someone persuades him to stop this persistent demand that somewhere along the line this was a conspiracy. There was no conspiracy.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that it remained standard government policy neither to confirm nor deny [NCND] whether any individual has/had any connection to the UK intelligence and security agencies. But in this case, the office decided to make a statement. The decision to give evidence on points relevant to these inquests represents a rare exception to the NCND policy, it said.
Denis MacShane, a former Foreign Office minister, said: Fayed and his legal team are going too far. To put servants of the country, whose identities should be protected, into this farcical proceeding is actually threatening their individual security. This is not only a farce, it is a contemptible abuse of British law and a scandalous waste of public money.
Gerald Butler, a retired senior circuit judge at the Old Bailey, told The Times: On the face of it, it seems bizarre. Calling so many MI6 officers one can only presume that the coroner is satisfied they can add something valuable. I cant imagine what it is.
Mr Butler, who was brought out of retirement in 2004 to hold a fresh inquest into the deaths of 13 black youngsters in a fire at a house party in South London in 1981, added: Maybe the judge knows something we dont know, but surely enough is enough.
The involvement of serving members of MI6 at the inquest will necessitate elaborate security measures to ensure that none of them is identified. The media and public will only be able to hear their evidence via an audio link. The ten, who include some former members of the Secret Intelligence Service, will be referred to only by letter or number and will give their evidence anonymously.
A former senior intelligence official said that giving evidence would be very disruptive and highly unproductive for MI6 and the officers involved, but that it was vital that the public was reassured that everything was being properly investigated. Its important that no one gets drawn into believing that theres any truth in the conspiracy theory, he said. Provided the officers are treated properly, their identities are not revealed and they are not bullied when giving evidence, its something which has to be done so that no one can ever again be attracted to the idea of there being a conspiracy behind the deaths.
Since the inquest was formally opened three years ago, three coroners have been in charge of proceedings; the Royal Coroner, Michael Burgess, and Baroness Butler-Sloss, who both stepped down from the job, and Lord Justice Scott Baker.
It has cost 6 million so far, including 1 million on lawyers and 3 million on security, with each juror escorted to court each day. About 370,000 has been spent on video conferencing and special visits. Witnesses have given evidence from France, the US and Nigeria.
MI6 officers are seldom called upon to give evidence in court. By contrast, members of MI5 have increasingly been required to give evidence at terrorist trials because of their involvement with the police in investigating alleged plots. Sir John Adye, who is giving evidence at the inquests next Thursday, was head of GCHQ between 1989 and 1996.
