Diana inquest coroner steps down
Updated on 24 April 2007
Baroness Butler-Sloss - who came out of retirement to take on the post after the original coroner resigned - said she didn't have enough experience of jury cases to carry on.
For an inquest into a royal death to lose one coroner may be regarded as misfortune but this one has now lost two. Lady Butler Sloss - formerly Britain's most senior woman judge - came out of retirement to hear this case in September of last year.
But today in a statement, Baroness Butler Sloss she said she was stepping down:
"This was a decision I took in the interests of the inquests after a great deal of thought and reflection. These inquests now require a jury, and I do not have the degree of experience of jury cases that I feel is necessary and appropriate for presiding over inquests of this level of public interest"
Diana Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed died in a car crash in the Pont D'Alma tunnel in Paris ten years ago this August. Their driver - Henri Paul - was apparently drunk, they were being chased by paparazzi motorbikes, they may have hit another car, they weren't wearing seatbelts.
Conspiracy theories have swirled around the events ever since.
The first coroner - Michael Burgess - stood down in June last year blaming a heavy workload. The inquests proper have yet to start, in 2003 Michael Burgess announced the inquests, and established an inquiry headed by Lord Stevens. Lady Butler-Sloss was appointed two and half years later - and was soon forced to back down on her decision to hold the inquests in private. The Stevens inquiry reported in December and preliminary inquest hearings begin: Lady Butler-Sloss decided there would be no jury. But Mohamed al Fayed appealed that decision and won; the high court decided a jury must be appointed.
The inquest is now set to begin - under new management - in early October. Dodi Fayed's father believes that Diana and Dodi were murdered by British Secret Services acting on behalf of the Royal Family who didn't want them to get married and have children.
All of which makes this a rather more contentious inquest than it might otherwise have been. The Fayed camp aren't happy about today's resignation. Enter Lord Justice Scott Baker the man now likely to become Britain's most famous coroner.
The Diana and Dodi inquests are expected to start in October and last up to three months, the controversy and conspiracy theories somewhat longer.
Timeline: Diana Inquest
1997 - Princess Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris along with her boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed and the driver.
1998 - Dodi's father Mohamed al-Fayed says in the Mirror newspaper that the crash was not an accident but a conspiracy.
1999 - Official French report on the crash is published. It concludes that the driver was under the influence of drink and prescription drugs, and that none of the paparazzi are to be charged with manslaughter.
2000 - London High Court rejects Mohamed al-Fayed's legal bid to hold joint inquests into the deaths of Diana and Dodi.
2002 - Royal Coroner John Burton leaves his post and is replaced by Michael Burgess.
2004 - Mr Burgess opens an inquest into Diana's death and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens is appointed to lead it.
July 2006 - Mr Burgess resigns, citing a heavy workload. Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss is chosen to replace him that September.
Dec 2006 - Lord Stevens publishes his inquiry, which concludes the crash was a "tragic accident" and dismisses conspiracy theories surrounding Diana's death.
Dec 2006 - Dame Butler-Sloss backs down over her decision to hold the inquest's preliminary hearings in private.
Mar 2007 - Mohamed al-Fayed wins a judicial review against Dame Butler-Sloss' decision not to appoint a jury for the inquest.
Apr 2007 - Dame Butler-Sloss resigns, saying she lacks experience in jury cases. She will be replaced by Lord Justice Scott Baker in June.
