In 2007, French authorities claimed the entire dossier had been “lost” just weeks before the $17million British inquest into Diana’s death opened – a probe that ultimately concluded the tragic princess and her rumored lover Dodi had been unlawfully killed due to grossly negligent driving by paparazzi and chauffeur Henri Paul, who also died in the smash. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones narrowly survived but suffered catastrophic injuries.
Sources tell us the French file on the horror, compiled by 30 police officers, includes thousands of pages of evidence, as well as around 200 witness statements, toxicology reports for Paul, previously unseen crash-scene photographs, and interviews from one of the largest legal investigations in modern French history. Lawyer Jean-Louis Pelletier, who represented paparazzo Fabrice Chassery, said in 2007 when he sought access to the dossier, he was told it had vanished.
He claimed: “When I went into the court to ask to see the files, I was told they weren’t there. I know files go missing from time to time, but bearing in mind the size and importance of this particular one, it is extraordinary.”
Partial photocopies were later provided to Lord Stevens, who headed the British investigation into Diana’s death, but the original documents – the only version admissible in any future court proceedings – have remained sealed.
In 2006, French authorities also revealed photographs showing Diana and Dodi at the crash scene had disappeared.
A British lawyer said, “It is scarcely believable that such crucial evidence could be lost just weeks before the inquest.”
