7 April 2008 - Full Day Transcript
1 Monday, 7th April 2008
2 (9.27 am)
3 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Good morning, members of the
4 jury.
5 Could the jury bailiffs please be resworn?
6 Jury bailiffs (resworn)
7 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you very much. If you
8 could retire and continue your deliberations.
9 (9.29 am)
10 (Adjourned for deliberations)
2
13 (Jury present)
14 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Members of the jury, thank you
15 very much for your note. The position is this, that
16 the time has now been reached when I am able to accept
17 from you a verdict upon which at least nine of you are
18 agreed. That applies not only to the verdict in each
19 case, but also to the various elements of the narrative
20 in paragraphs 19 and 20.
21 I am going to ask you to retire again and continue
22 your deliberations so that, if you are able to reach an
23 unanimous verdict, please do so, but if you cannot, then
24 I can accept a verdict on which nine at least of you are
25 agreed.
3
1 The only other matter that I should tell you is
2 that, as far as signing the inquisition is concerned,
3 what the rules state is that that should only be signed
4 by the majority of those agreeing to the verdict. So it
5 will either be all eleven of you, if all eleven of you
6 agree, or ten of you if ten of you agree or nine of you
7 if nine of you agree to the verdict in each case. But
8 as far as the narrative aspect is concerned, simply
9 indicate how many agreed and how many dissented up to,
10 of course, that you must have at least nine of you
11 agreeing. So please retire again on that basis.
12 (Jury out)
13 (3.35 pm)
14 (Adjourned for deliberations)
15 (4.25 pm)
16 (Jury present)
17 VERDICTS
18 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: I would ask that nobody leaves
19 the court until the reading of both inquisitions is
20 complete, please.
21 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Would the jury foreman please
22 rise?
23 Madam Foreman, in the matter of the death of Mr Emad
24 El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al Fayed, have you reached
25 a verdict on which a majority of the nine of you have
4
1 agreed?
2 THE JURY FOREMAN: We have.
3 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Could you give us the verdict and
4 indicate the number of jurors assenting to the verdict?
5 THE JURY FOREMAN: The verdict is unlawful killing, grossly
6 negligent driving of the following vehicles and of
7 the Mercedes.
8 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Thank you. Could you now read
9 the rest of the narrative on the inquisition, indicating
10 as appropriate the --
11 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: How many agreed and how many
12 dissented?
13 THE JURY FOREMAN: Nine, sir.
14 The deceased is Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim
15 Al Fayed. The injury causing death: multiple injuries,
16 including severe impact injury to the chest and
17 the transaction of the aorta.
18 Dodi Al Fayed died in the Alma Underpass in Paris at
19 around 12.22 am on 31st August 1997 as a result of
20 a motor crash. The crash was caused or contributed to
21 by the speed and manner of driving of the Mercedes,
22 the speed and manner of driving of the following
23 vehicles, the impairment of the judgment of the driver
24 of the Mercedes through alcohol. There are nine of
25 those who agree on those conclusions.
5
1 In addition, the death of the deceased was caused or
2 contributed to by the fact that the deceased was not
3 wearing a seat-belt, the fact that the Mercedes struck
4 the pillar in the Alma Tunnel rather than colliding with
5 something else, and we are unanimous on those, sir.
6 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Is that the conclusion of your
7 narrative verdict?
8 THE JURY FOREMAN: It is.
9 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: In the matter of Diana,
10 Princess of Wales, have you reached a verdict on which
11 at least nine of you have agreed?
12 THE JURY FOREMAN: We have.
13 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Could you give us the verdict,
14 indicating the number of jurors that have dissented to
15 that?
16 THE JURY FOREMAN: The verdict is unlawful killing, grossly
17 negligent driving of the following vehicles and of
18 the Mercedes, and that is nine of us, sir.
19 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Could you please read the rest of
20 the narrative of your inquisition, indicating, where
21 appropriate, the number of jurors who have assented to
22 the verdict?
23 THE JURY FOREMAN: The deceased is Diana, Princess of Wales.
24 The cause of death is chest injury, laceration within
25 the left pulmonary vein and the immediate adjacent
6
1 portion of the left atrium of the heart.
2 Diana, Princess of Wales, died La Pitie-Salpetriere
3 Hospital in Paris at around 4 am on 31st August 1997 as
4 a result of a motor crash which occurred in the Alma
5 Underpass in Paris on 31st August 1997 at around
6 12.22 am. The crash was caused or contributed to by
7 the speed and manner of driving of the Mercedes,
8 the speed and manner of driving of the following
9 vehicles, the impairment of the judgment of the driver
10 of the Mercedes through alcohol. Nine of us are agreed
11 on those points, sir.
12 In addition, the death of the deceased was caused or
13 contributed to by the fact that the deceased was not
14 wearing a seat-belt, the fact that the Mercedes struck
15 the pillar in the Alma Tunnel, rather than colliding
16 with something else, and we are unanimously agreed on
17 that.
18 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Have the assenting jurors signed
19 both inquisition forms?
20 THE JURY FOREMAN: They have.
21 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Could you pass the forms to the
22 usher? You may be seated.
23 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you very much.
24 Thank you very much, members of the jury. It simply
25 remains for me, on behalf of everyone, to give thanks to
7
1 you for the obviously very, very great care that you
2 have given to this case, not only through the six months
3 that we have been hearing the evidence, but also in your
4 deliberations over these last days.
5 I may say that I think that it is almost astonishing
6 that you have managed to be here on every day of the six
7 months with no absences for illness, no lateness and no
8 other problems, meaning that you could not be here,
9 which shows a really very considerable devotion to duty
10 and I am sure that everybody is very grateful to you for
11 that.
12 In a moment, there will be an opportunity for you to
13 be debriefed by the court staff, which may be of some
14 assistance, particularly in view of the unique nature of
15 this case.
16 Finally, I would like to thank everybody else in
17 court for the expedition with which it has been possible
18 to proceed.
19 Six months is a long time, but we have covered a lot
20 of territory and I am grateful to counsel for all
21 the assistance that I have had in making that possible.
22 Thank you very much.
23 (4.33 pm)
24 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Oh, I should have added one very
25 important thing. I excuse you all from jury service for
8
1 life, if you so wish, and you will be getting a letter
2 which will indicate this.
3 (4.33 pm)
4 (The inquests were concluded)
5
9
1 INDEX
2
3 VERDICTS ......................................... 4
4
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