21 February 2008 - Morning session
1 Thursday, 21st February 2008
2 (9.30 am)
3 (Proceedings delayed)
4 (9.44 am)
5 (Jury present)
6 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Good morning. Can you hear us in
7 Paris all right?
8 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Yes, sir, we can hear you.
9 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: We are just getting the jury in
10 and we will be ready to start quite shortly.
11 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: Thank you.
12 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes, Mr Mansfield.
13 MR MANSFIELD: Sir, I am sorry to interrupt proceedings just
14 for a moment. I do not speak just on my own behalf and
15 those of the people that I represent, but also on behalf
16 of others, that there is a genuine concern about
17 observations being made in the public domain -- I shall
18 name no one -- but they can be seen in the press this
19 morning and I believe on the radio also this morning.
20 It may be opportune, if you felt able to, to indicate
21 the parameters and legal necessity for this inquest
22 because it seems to have been forgotten by those making
23 these observations.
24 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: I have seen the observations.
25 I read the article in The Times newspaper this morning.
1
1 I have not heard anything on the radio. In that article
2 certain individuals are apparently expressing their own
3 personal views.
4 MR MANSFIELD: Yes, and one other observation: it is often
5 that the remarks are leveled at the end against the
6 person that I represent, although one has to remember
7 that he was not the only one who has had certain
8 beliefs. In fact, if I may just say so, Princess Diana
9 in fact had beliefs and fears of her own, all of which
10 need to be examined and are being examined.
11 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Indeed. I shall say this in
12 the presence of the jury. These inquests, which are an
13 inquiry into two deaths, are being heard by a jury
14 following the decision of the Divisional Court and they
15 will continue to be heard by the jury, which in due
16 course will return its verdict.
17 I remind everyone, as I have done before, that
18 the jury decides the case on the evidence it hears in
19 this court and on nothing else. Comments that are made
20 outside the court, often about a limited aspect of the
21 evidence, may render the maker or publisher liable to
22 contempt of court. I again urge great care that nothing
23 is said, written or published that may influence the
24 jury.
25 MR HOUGH: Sir, I think we have M Henrotte.
2
1 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you.
2 I call M Henrotte.
3 MR HOUGH: Could the witness please make the oath or
4 affirmation?
5 MR HUBERT HENROTTE (sworn)
6 THE INTERPRETER: I have to say, sir, sorry, that we hear
7 ourselves. There is an echo.
8 MR HOUGH: I see. I do not know if there is anything that
9 can be done to improve the sound quality.
10 THE INTERPRETER: Well, let's try.
11 SECRETARY TO THE INQUEST: I think that sounds better now,
12 Mr Hough.
13 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: You can hear us, can you?
14 THE INTERPRETER: Yes.
15 Questions from MR HOUGH
16 MR HOUGH: Is your name Hubert Henrotte?
17 A. Absolutely.
18 Q. May I start by thanking you for coming to give evidence
19 at relatively short notice.
20 My name is Jonathan Hough and I shall ask you
21 questions first on behalf of the Coroner here.
22 I think that you were the head of the Sygma
23 photographic agency and you knew James Andanson in 1997.
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. I think that you gave some information by telephone to
3
1 the British police in the course of their investigation
2 in November 2006 and that is recorded in a police
3 message we have. Is that right?
4 A. By telephone it is possible, yes.
5 Q. I think that you have also written a book entitled
6 "Le Monde dans les Yeux" which deals with a couple of
7 the topics we have to ask you about.
8 A. Correct.
9 Q. Other than the information that you gave to the British
10 police and your book, have you given any interviews for
11 example to the media or to anybody else about the
12 matters discussed?
13 A. No.
14 Q. Am I right, therefore, in saying that apart from
15 royalties for your book, you have not received and you
16 are not expecting to receive any payment for your
17 account?
18 THE INTERPRETER: The witness made a statement to the French
19 police on 1st September.
20 MR HOUGH: 1st September of which year?
21 A. 1997. The day after the crash.
22 Q. Thank you. May I ask the question I was just asking
23 again? Am I right in assuming that no payment has been
24 received or is expected in the future by M Henrotte?
25 A. No.
4
1 Q. I am going to deal with various background matters now.
2 Is it right that you founded the Gamma photographic
3 agency in 1967?
4 A. Yes, on 1st January.
5 Q. Is it right that you took on James Andanson as
6 a photographer on your books a few years later?
7 A. Yes. Absolutely.
8 Q. Is it right that, in 1973, you founded a new agency
9 called "Sygma"?
10 A. Correct.
11 Q. Did James Andanson, along with some other photographers
12 from Gamma, join you in Sygma?
13 A. Correct.
14 Q. Did James Andanson work for the agency, albeit with
15 a couple of small breaks, for 24 years up to the end of
16 August 1997?
17 A. Yes, there were several breaks.
18 Q. Is this right, that there were tensions between you and
19 Mr Andanson over the years and these small breaks arose
20 when he left the agency for short periods?
21 A. Yes, there were several tensions, yes.
22 Q. In relation to Mr Andanson's work, I think that some of
23 his work involved taking photographs of famous people by
24 appointment, people he had contacts with.
25 A. Yes, VIPs, yes.
5
1 Q. We have heard that he had contacts with people such as
2 M Dard, Gilbert Becaud, Pierre Beregevoy and Christian
3 Moueix?
4 A. And many others.
5 Q. But I think also some of his work involved work that
6 we would describe as paparazzi-type work, taking photos
7 of people in public. Is that right?
8 A. That was one of the reasons why we had arguments over
9 time because I did not want Sygma to be a paparazzi
10 agency.
11 Q. Now, Mrs Andanson, Mr Andanson's wife, has estimated
12 that about 80 per cent of his work was photographing
13 people by appointment and about 20 per cent the
14 paparazzi type of work; do you understand?
15 A. Yes, that is correct.
16 Q. Is this right, that each year he would go to
17 the South of France for the summer season and to
18 somewhere like Gstaad for the winter season?
19 A. Yes, every summer he went to the South of France. He
20 rented a house in St Tropez in order to photograph all
21 of the VIPs that stayed there during the summer.
22 Q. Again, many of those VIP photographing arrangements
23 would be by appointment?
24 A. Well, not always, and there were photographs that he
25 took without our agreement and we have chosen not to
6
1 publish them. That was another source of disagreement
2 between us which -- because he thought that he did not
3 make enough money.
4 Q. Now, in 1997, I think Mr Andanson spent the summer in
5 the South of France as usual, but was following the
6 Princess of Wales in particular. Is that right?
7 A. Yes, like anybody else. It was a world event. It was
8 not even anymore paparazzi work as such.
9 Q. I think that James Andanson chartered some boats to
10 follow the Jonikal yacht. Was that something that you
11 were aware of?
12 A. Yes, it was for two or three days, not more. There were
13 press agencies, newspapers/magazines, that chartered
14 boats for a whole month, but I think Mr Andanson did
15 once or twice at the most.
16 Q. I think while he was down in the South of France, you
17 spoke with him fairly regularly; is that right?
18 A. Every day.
19 Q. While he was out there, I think he complained about
20 Sygma being poorly organised and losing out to other
21 agencies on exclusive picture stories about
22 the Princess.
23 A. Well, that is what he was saying, but actually he had
24 never made any exclusive pictures. There was "the kiss"
25 in Sardinia, but he was not there. It was always about
7
1 the same photographs.
2 Q. Is this right, you had disagreements with him because
3 you did not regard it as the principal function of your
4 agency to be a paparazzi agency?
5 A. Yes but as I said earlier, there was some point in time
6 in August when it became news really. It was not
7 anymore paparazzi work.
8 Q. You have described the tensions between you and
9 Mr Andanson and his complaints. The British police have
10 recorded you as saying that you thought by 28th or
11 29th August, that is the Thursday or Friday before
12 the crash in Paris, you thought, at that point, that
13 Mr Andanson was preparing to resign from your agency.
14 A. And he resigned on 5th September.
15 Q. Is this right, that you, before the crash had happened,
16 had a strong view that he was likely to resign?
17 A. Yes, because he was threatening me.
18 Q. Can we now turn to Mr Andanson's plans for the weekend
19 of 30th and 31st August 1997?
20 The jury have heard some evidence about Mr Andanson
21 having an assignment in Corsica with Gilbert Becaud on
22 Sunday 31st August. Was that something you were aware
23 of?
24 A. Yes, absolutely, and I am the one who booked the plane
25 ticket actually. He is the one who paid for it, but
8
1 I was the one that booked it.
2 Q. We will come to that in a moment, but how long in
3 advance of the Corsica assignment were you aware of it?
4 A. Two or three days before, I think. I could not be
5 definite, but I think it was two or three days.
6 Q. Is this right, the assignment would have been arranged
7 directly between Mr Andanson and M Becaud?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Now you thought, quite reasonably, that Mr Andanson
10 would be doing the assignment for your agency, Sygma.
11 A. Of course, but he deceived us and we never saw
12 the photographs, even though he had not given his
13 resignation yet.
14 Q. Now you have referred to making plans for flights for
15 Mr Andanson for the assignment. You have said that he
16 paid for the flights. Did your agency not pay for the
17 flights in advance?
18 A. Yes, but it was just more convenient on that occasion
19 because he was in St Tropez, I was in Paris, so it was
20 easier for him to pay for the tickets with his credit
21 card. So normally he would advance those expenses and
22 then we would reimburse them right away.
23 Q. I see. So the arrangement was that you booked
24 the flights, but he was to pay for them on his credit
25 card rather than you paying for them in advance?
9
1 (Link broken)
2 A. Yes, so the answer was there were different situations.
3 It depended whether -- if he was in Paris, then he would
4 pay for it. It depended on the distance also.
5 Q. But on this particular occasion, are you saying that
6 your agency did not pay for the flights and that
7 Mr Andanson was to pay for them on his credit card?
8 A. That is right.
9 Q. Did you notify Mr Andanson before he took the flight
10 that you had booked it for him?
11 A. Yes, of course. I am almost certain, as a matter of
12 fact, that I had sent him a fax with the flight number,
13 the date and time.
14 Q. Now you told the British police officers that you sent
15 that fax to James Andanson's home on Saturday
16 30th August, just before 20 past 8 in the evening.
17 A. The 31st was the Sunday?
18 Q. Yes.
19 A. Well, I cannot remember at what time I sent the fax,
20 but ...
21 Q. Can you remember which day you sent it?
22 A. Well, it was at the most 24 hours before, so I guess
23 the day before he was supposed to take the flight.
24 Q. Now, the --
25 A. I think it was on the 29th. That is the Friday.
10
1 Q. The British police have recorded that you read to them
2 a fax dated 30th August at 20 past 8 in the evening.
3 Could that be the time that you sent the fax?
4 A. It is possible. I am not sure anymore of the date and
5 time. It is possible.
6 Q. Now the British police have also recorded that you read
7 the fax out to them and that it indicated that
8 Mr Andanson's flights were prepaid for Figari. So
9 prepaid flights to Figari Airport in Corsica.
10 A. It is possible. It is just that it was ten years ago.
11 But if I said that to the British police, it must have
12 been true. I do not remember whether I was in my office
13 in Paris when they called me. Did I have papers with
14 me? I could not be sure.
15 Q. Do you still have this fax?
16 A. Well, I can look for it. I have a number of documents
17 still that I have kept and I can commit to look for it,
18 if you want me to.
19 Q. If you could, we would be very grateful for that.
20 A. Of course.
21 Q. So, just to be clear, the British police have recorded
22 you saying that the flights were prepaid or the fax as
23 saying that, but you recall now that you had not prepaid
24 the flights?
25 A. Maybe it is his wife who told me so or maybe it was
11
1 because he did not want to use the prepaid tickets, he
2 wanted to pay for the ticket himself because maybe he
3 already had the intent of not giving us the photographs
4 that he was going to take of Gilbert Becaud.
5 Q. So you think that even if you had prepaid for the
6 flights, Mr Andanson chose to pay for the flights
7 himself in order to do the work for another agency?
8 A. Well, his wife told me that she had proof of the fact
9 that he had paid for the tickets.
10 Q. Now you sent a fax, either on the Friday or on the
11 Saturday. Is it right then that you expected
12 Mr Andanson to be at home on the day you sent the fax?
13 A. Yes, and he was. Yes, I remember now, he was not in
14 St Tropez anymore, he was home with his wife. I think
15 he had got home two or three days before.
16 Q. Now, moving to a different topic: the Princess of Wales
17 in Paris. I think you became aware that the
18 Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed were flying to Paris
19 from Sardinia.
20 A. Yes, Mr Andanson told me.
21 Q. Now, we know that they took the flight on Saturday
22 30th August. Was it that day that Mr Andanson told you
23 about the flight or another day?
24 A. Yes, maybe he told me on the Saturday or the day before;
25 at the earliest, the day before in the evening.
12
1 Q. As to how Mr Andanson may have discovered, I think you
2 told the British police that he had contacts with other
3 photographers; is that right?
4 A. Yes, he had people who informed him, namely journalists,
5 policemen, people who worked at the airport. You know,
6 you never tell who is giving you the information.
7 Q. You, I think, made arrangements for Stephane Cardinale
8 and Jacques Langevin to cover the Princess in Paris on
9 behalf of Sygma.
10 A. Yes, of course, because we knew something big was going
11 to happen because she had told the photographers in
12 St Tropez that she had great news to announce, so
13 we knew that it was going to be world news, her coming
14 to Paris.
15 Q. Now, we know that the Princess's comment, "You are going
16 to get a big surprise", was made six weeks before this
17 weekend. Is that something you recall now?
18 A. No, I do not remember.
19 Q. In any event your agency was to be represented by
20 Mr Cardinale and Mr Langevin. Is it right that there
21 was no plan for Mr Andanson to represent your agency in
22 Paris?
23 A. No. It was not at all something that we discussed. He
24 was never supposed to come to Paris for that.
25 Q. Did he ever tell you that he wanted to cover the
13
1 Princess in Paris that weekend?
2 A. No, he wanted to do the photoshooting with
3 Gilbert Becaud. His mind was set on it and there was no
4 way that we could talk him out of doing it.
5 Q. After the crash, did anybody, including either of your
6 photographers, tell you that they had seen Mr Andanson
7 in Paris on the night or day of the crash?
8 A. No, never. Nobody.
9 Q. Is this right, as we have heard from Mr Lafaille, that
10 Mr Andanson was a well-known and recognisable figure in
11 the world of celebrity photographers?
12 A. Yes, absolutely.
13 Q. Dealing with another aspect of 30th August 1997, I think
14 you were visited on that Saturday by Mrs Andanson alone
15 in your Paris office.
16 A. Yes, she wanted to see me.
17 Q. What time of the afternoon was she with you?
18 A. It was 4 or 5 pm.
19 Q. What was the purpose of her visit to you?
20 A. She wanted to borrow money. She wanted to get an
21 advance because she had to pay for the studies of her
22 son in England. I think his father wanted him to become
23 an automobile racer and he did not have enough money
24 anymore to finance that.
25 Q. Did you agree or refuse?
14
1 A. Yes, I refused. Maybe I did not refuse right away.
2 Maybe I said that I was going to think about it, but
3 what is for sure that I did not say "yes" that day. And
4 as four or five days later I received Mr Andanson's
5 resignation, I wrote her a letter saying that she was
6 quite daring and audacious because obviously I thought
7 that she must have known about his intent of resigning
8 from the agency. She told me afterwards that it was not
9 the case, but that is what I thought then.
10 Q. In fact I think the resignation you received by way
11 of fax at the end of that week, around Friday
12 5th September. Is that right?
13 A. Yes, it was on 5th September. I cannot remember whether
14 it was a Friday, but I checked the date yesterday
15 evening to make sure and it was 5th September.
16 Q. Returning quickly to the weekend of 30th and
17 31st August, as far as you were aware, did Mr Andanson
18 do the Becaud assignment on the Sunday as planned?
19 A. Well, I have never seen the photographs. People
20 confirmed to me that he had done it and actually his
21 wife -- and I believe her -- told to me that she had
22 seen the photographs. I do not think they were ever
23 published.
24 Q. Now, moving on a few years, we know that Mr Andanson
25 died in May of 2000 and that the French police concluded
15
1 that his death was suicide.
2 A. Yes. Well, it is not my opinion, but it was the
3 conclusion of the French police, yes.
4 Q. In fact, in your book, you have written that you believe
5 that it was not suicide.
6 A. Absolutely. I confirm that.
7 Q. Now, is this right, from your point of view, Mr Andanson
8 was not in Paris, to your knowledge, on the night of
9 30th August 1997?
10 A. Yes, I confirm that too.
11 Q. So even if his death was not suicide, you don't believe,
12 do you, that it could have anything to do with
13 the events of that night?
14 A. I could not tell you for sure. I do not know. There
15 are several possibilities. Maybe he owed money to
16 someone and that person murdered him and concealed
17 the murder and gave it the shape of a suicide. But he
18 loved life and I do not believe that he would have
19 committed suicide.
20 Q. Now after Mr Andanson's suicide, I think you were in
21 touch again with Mrs Andanson, is that right?
22 A. Yes, I think it was at least a year later because after
23 I refused to lend her money, we had a difficult
24 relationship. So even though we were very close for
25 a period of time, we did not speak to each other
16
1 anymore, but then I wanted to make a documentary film
2 about the death of Mr Andanson, an investigation.
3 Q. In your book, you record Mrs Andanson telling you that
4 she had received a phone call from M Klein, the
5 president of the Ritz. Is that right?
6 A. Well, if I wrote that, it must be true.
7 Q. Well you wrote -- and we will ask Mrs Andanson about
8 this -- that she had told you that M Klein had offered
9 her free legal representation in relation to her
10 husband's death. Is that something that you recall her
11 saying?
12 A. Could you remind me who Mr Klein is? Is he a lawyer for
13 Mr Al Fayed?
14 Q. No, no, M Klein is the president of the Ritz. You refer
15 in your book to the "Directeur du Ritz".
16 A. So, a close relationship with Mr Al Fayed and it was in
17 fact on behalf of Mr Al Fayed that he said that.
18 MR HOUGH: Thank you very much. Those are my questions.
19 You will be asked questions by others.
20 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Mr Mansfield?
21 Questions from MR MANSFIELD
22 MR MANSFIELD: Good morning. My name is Michael Mansfield
23 and I represent Mohamed Al Fayed.
24 I only have two or three questions for you. You
25 have told us, in relation to Mr Andanson's death, that
17
1 you did not believe it was suicide; he loved life. May
2 I ask you this? Is it right that you knew Mr Andanson
3 very well indeed for over 30 years?
4 A. Yes, correct.
5 Q. I think you have observed in the past that outside --
6 and with the exception of his wife -- you are the person
7 who knew him best of all.
8 A. Yes, I think so. I confirm that.
9 Q. Would it be right to say that during those 30-odd years,
10 he never expressed any intention of taking his life or
11 putting his life in jeopardy?
12 A. Never. Well, never in front of me.
13 Q. And he never manifested any behaviour which suggested
14 severe mental turmoil that might lead him to burn
15 himself to death?
16 A. No, never. Well, he had a strong temper and he was very
17 determined. When he wanted something, he was really
18 determined to get it and he always did get it.
19 MR MANSFIELD: Yes, thank you very much.
20 MR KEEN: No questions, sir.
21 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Mr Croxford?
22 MR CROXFORD: Just a few if I may, sir.
23 Questions from MR CROXFORD
24 MR CROXFORD: Mr Henrotte, my name is Croxford. I am
25 a lawyer acting for the Ritz Hotel and I would just like
18
1 to ask you a few more questions about Mr Andanson.
2 It goes without saying that Mr Andanson was a highly
3 successful photographer, wasn't he?
4 A. Yes, he was very successful because he was a very good
5 journalist. He knew how to tell stories, he knew how to
6 get doors opened and he had a lot of charm.
7 Q. As you told the British police, he was a prodigious
8 worker and was keen to earn as much as he could to fund
9 a comfortable -- I interpose the word "comfortable" --
10 but a comfortable lifestyle.
11 A. Yes, absolutely. Sometimes he worked over 48 hours in
12 a row, driving at night, et cetera.
13 Q. Is this also right, that his high standing as
14 a photojournalist was something which -- how can I put
15 it -- in his reputation or competition amongst other
16 photojournalists, he was proud of his high reputation?
17 A. Yes, but you have to bear in mind that sometimes he
18 overstated things. Sometimes he would say that he had
19 earned that much money, even though he had earned much
20 less. He needed always to put himself forward.
21 Q. He was highly competitive against those other
22 photojournalists, wasn't he, always wanting, if he
23 could, to get the picture first and the best picture?
24 A. He was feared, in fact; he was feared.
25 Q. What, by the other photojournalists, because he was so
19
1 competitive to get there first?
2 A. Yes, and there was a lot of competition between them.
3 Q. Now, it is right, isn't it, that over the years this
4 interest in paparazzi-style photography had grown with
5 him?
6 A. Yes, because he experienced a time when this kind of
7 work, paparazzi work, was becoming more and more
8 important. Before, in France, there was only a few
9 magazines. There was Paris Match, Jour de France, for
10 example, but then there was Voici and plenty of others,
11 like Closer, et cetera. But actually -- no Closer and
12 Public were first published after his death.
13 Q. It is right, is it not, that he began to work closely
14 with and became a close friend of someone who you have
15 described as the "king of the genre", David Angeli?
16 A. Daniel Angeli, yes.
17 Q. That summer of 1997, when he went down to the South of
18 France, James Andanson, I think as you would have
19 described it, pursued the Princess of Wales; correct?
20 A. Yes, correct.
21 Q. Indeed the Royal Family and the Princess of Wales had
22 been an interest of Andanson and your agency for some
23 time, had it not?
24 A. Yes, as a matter of fact we had the privilege of
25 representing a very well-known photographer, Tim Graham,
20
1 who was the official photographer of Lady Di.
2 Q. Indeed, Mr Andanson had introduced Tim Graham to your
3 agency, hadn't he?
4 A. Yes, absolutely.
5 Q. Notwithstanding that, Mr Andanson himself still
6 continued with this interest in the Princess of Wales?
7 A. Yes, it started when Tim Graham said it was something
8 else that he did not have any grips with -- that he did
9 not want to know about it. He said, "You can do it, but
10 I do not want to know about it".
11 Q. Now, during that summer, when he was in the South of
12 France, Mr Andanson had complained regularly and loudly,
13 had he not, about the need for more back-up from
14 the agency?
15 A. Yes, correct, yes.
16 Q. You sent down Stephane Cardinale and Stephan Roue(?), is
17 that right, to assist?
18 A. Well, long after, because you have to understand that
19 considering the relationship that we had with Tim Graham
20 and hence with Lady Di, I wanted to be very careful and
21 I did not want to make a faux pas. So it was only when
22 we understood that everything was going to switch to
23 another level, that it was going to become a world
24 event, that I decided to go for it.
25 Q. You sent those men, and that is the same
21
1 Stephane Cardinale who you sent to Paris on 30th August,
2 isn't it?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. When you sent Mr Cardinale to the South of France,
5 it was clear from Mr Andanson's response to you that,
6 first of all, he did not get on with Cardinale, is that
7 right?
8 A. It was two other photographers that he found it hard to
9 deal with that I had sent before. As a matter of fact
10 he had a good relationship with Cardinale, but actually
11 he left when Cardinale went there and Cardinale is the
12 one who took the best picture. You know, she is on the
13 diving board and there is a seagull that flies over.
14 Q. Cardinale was the man, after you had sent him down, who
15 got arguably the best photograph of the Princess,
16 sitting on the diving board of the yacht, is that right,
17 with a seagull in the background, or sitting next to her
18 in fact?
19 A. Yes, absolutely. Yes.
20 Q. In your book, Mr Henrotte, you said this:
21 "Les hommes ne s'entendent pas et James m'envoie une
22 veritable lettre d'insultes."
23 If necessary, I will put it up on the screen. He
24 sent you --
25 A. It was not Cardinale though.
22
1 Q. I see. But nevertheless, it was Cardinale who had
2 trumped Mr Andanson that season to get the best
3 photograph, correct?
4 A. Yes, correct, you are right.
5 Q. Now, moving closer to the weekend, you understood that
6 Mr Andanson came back from St Tropez during that week
7 before 30th August; correct?
8 A. Yes, correct.
9 Q. And you understood that he went to his home at
10 Lignieres, south of Paris?
11 A. Yes, it is 200 kilometres away from Paris. Yes.
12 Q. Now, by the time the weekend was coming near, the
13 arrangement to go and photograph Gilbert Becaud was in
14 place, but despite that, it was Mr Andanson, you think,
15 who told you that the Princess and Dodi Al Fayed were
16 due to come to Paris on the Saturday; is that right?
17 A. Yes, that is right.
18 Q. So to some extent it was clear to you that he was
19 maintaining an interest in the couple, correct?
20 A. Yes, of course.
21 Q. You said a little earlier on today:
22 "... we knew something big was going to happen
23 because she had told the photographers in St Tropez that
24 she had great news to announce, so we knew that it was
25 going to be world news, her coming to Paris."
23
1 A. Absolutely.
2 Q. First of all, do you know when it was that the Princess
3 had made this statement about great news to announce?
4 A. Eight/ten days before.
5 Q. Thank you. You realised that their visit to Paris was
6 potentially of worldwide interest; correct?
7 A. Yes, of course, considering with whom she was on
8 the boat and bearing in mind that she was to announce
9 something, we knew it was going to be big.
10 Q. Did you tell Mr Andanson that you had deployed
11 Mr Cardinale to Paris to try to take photographs of the
12 Princess?
13 A. Yes, of course.
14 Q. Mr Andanson, who you knew very well, this prodigious
15 worker and competitive photographer, the very fact that
16 the Princess was going to Paris was likely to have been
17 something to have aroused his professional interest,
18 wasn't it?
19 A. Yes. I thought about it, yes.
20 Q. And you are sending the man who trumped him to the best
21 photograph in the South of France. Might that have
22 rather pricked his competitive instincts and encouraged
23 him to try and get the shot before he went to Corsica,
24 if possible?
25 A. Well, it was -- concerning Mr Cardinale's photograph,
24
1 it was the best authorised picture. The best picture
2 obviously was the one in Sardinia of "the kiss". And
3 Andanson considered that it was not anymore of such an
4 interest because this coup had been done, it was over,
5 we knew what was happening.
6 Q. You have described the story and the photograph in Paris
7 as potentially of worldwide interest. Just the last
8 question on this. Did you consider at all that if
9 Mr Andanson had got a good picture in Paris on that
10 weekend, then it might be a good way of showing your
11 agency what it was missing or the new agency, Sipa, just
12 what it was getting?
13 A. No, for Mr Andanson it was over. After the photograph
14 of the kiss in Sardinia, nothing could be stronger.
15 It was no more a scoop. Obviously there was something
16 stronger, that is the crash, but it was not foreseeable.
17 So for him it was over.
18 Q. Last topic: you are recorded as having told the British
19 police in November of 2006 this, that you had paid for
20 James' flight to Corsica on 31st August in advance and
21 that you read out a fax to the police. Now I would just
22 like to ask you about what you read to them. You are
23 recorded as having read out first of all this:
24 "You are prepaid for Figari with tax, code LMNDSR."
25 So if you said that to the British police and giving
25
1 that detail of the booking code, it would be right,
2 would it not, that you must have had the fax, your copy
3 of the fax, in your hand when you spoke to
4 the policeman?
5 A. Well, I think I have kept the fax. I cannot tell you
6 with a certainty that I had it with me on the day I had
7 this conversation with the British police, but I am
8 going to look for it this afternoon and you will get
9 the confirmation.
10 Q. I quite understand that, and obviously we hope and
11 expect that you will be able to find the fax. But it is
12 right, isn't it, that if you gave the British police the
13 code, LMNDSR, that is not a piece of information that
14 you would have remembered from nearly ten years before
15 and you must have had the document?
16 A. Yes, you must be right.
17 Q. You also told the English police apparently that you
18 sent the fax at 19 minutes past 8. 19 minutes past 8 in
19 the evening; 20.19. So, again, you must have had the
20 confirmation sheet from sending the fax, mustn't you?
21 A. Yes. It is not something that I could remember. You
22 must be right.
23 Q. Of course. And at that stage, this prepaid flight with
24 TAT -- TAT is a French airline, isn't it?
25 THE INTERPRETER: Excuse me?
26
1 MR CROXFORD: TAT is a French airline, isn't it?
2 A. Well, the airline can be Air France, Corsica or -- which
3 other one you said?
4 Q. TAT. I do not want to take time on it, TAT.
5 A. No. Well I have to look for the fax. I cannot
6 remember.
7 Q. Very well. You and Mr Andanson spoke frequently on
8 the telephone; is that right?
9 A. Yes, we already said that.
10 Q. You had both his mobile number and his home landline
11 number, didn't you?
12 A. Yes, of course.
13 Q. Would you have sent this fax to him on that Saturday
14 evening because you had not been able to raise him on
15 the telephone?
16 A. Well, you know, we had a difficult relationship at the
17 time. There was a dispute between us and I wanted to
18 keep traces of what was happening because I knew -- or
19 at least I thought that he was preparing something.
20 Q. Of course, at that stage, the assignment with
21 Gilbert Becaud in Corsica was an assignment organised
22 for your agency, wasn't it --
23 A. No, it was organised by him directly.
24 Q. -- at a time when he was working for your agency. He
25 did not resign, I think, until 5th September.
27
1 A. Yes. That is right.
2 Q. If Mr Andanson had seen your fax and read it, he would
3 obviously have known that there were prepaid tickets to
4 be collected --
5 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Mr Croxford, we seem to have
6 spent the last 35 minutes going round in circles and
7 getting precisely nowhere. We have a lot of evidence to
8 get through today, one of the jurors is hoping to catch
9 a plane this evening, and really there is a limit to how
10 far we can go round in circles.
11 MR CROXFORD: I apologise, sir, if you think I have been
12 going round in circles. I thought you would have
13 stopped me sooner.
14 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: I was pretty tempted to and
15 perhaps I should have done.
16 MR CROXFORD: I noticed, sir. I thought I was dealing with
17 something that was central to the case in so far as it
18 concerns Mr Andanson. If you think I am going round in
19 circles and you want to stop me, I will stop.
20 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: There is no point in going round
21 the same issue and getting answers that really do not
22 take the case any further.
23 MR CROXFORD: That is a matter for the jury, as you have
24 reminded them already this morning, sir.
25 I will take the hint. I will ask no more.
28
1 MR HORWELL: No, thank you.
2 MR HOUGH: No, thank you. Nothing from me. Thank you very
3 much, Mr Henrotte.
4 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you, Mr Henrotte. We are
5 grateful to you for giving us your time. We will have
6 the morning break now, until 20 past.
7 (11.06 am)
8 (A short break)
9
10 (11.22 am)
11 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Can you hear us in Paris?
12 MR HOUGH: I think the mute is on at the Paris end.
13 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Good morning, Mrs Andanson. Can
14 you hear us?
15 (Jury present)
16 THE INTERPRETER: Yes, we can hear.
17 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you for coming. We are
18 just bringing the jury into court and we will be ready
19 to start with your evidence in just a moment.
20 MR HOUGH: Could Mrs Andanson please make the oath or
21 affirmation?
22 MRS ELISABETH ANDANSON (sworn)
23 Questions from MR HOUGH
24 MR HOUGH: Now, your name, I think, is Elisabeth Andanson.
25 A. Yes.
29
1 Q. My name is Jonathan Hough, and I shall ask you questions
2 first on behalf of the Coroner and then others will ask
3 you questions.
4 A. All right.
5 Q. I think you were the wife of the late James Andanson and
6 you also have a son, also called "James".
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. I think that you gave a statement to the French police
9 in February 1998, while they were investigating your
10 husband and his Fiat Uno, before he and it were ruled
11 out of their investigation.
12 A. Yes, that is right.
13 Q. Now I think you also gave three statements to the
14 British police in 2006, one in April, one in September
15 and one in November.
16 A. Yes, that is right.
17 Q. I think there should be for you, in Paris, a file of
18 documents which we may need to show you from time to
19 time. When I need to show documents on the screen in
20 England, I will ask for that to be done, but I hope
21 we can avoid showing documents on the screen to Paris.
22 A. Okay, very good.
23 Q. I think you also gave a statement to the French police
24 concerning your husband's death in May 2000.
25 A. Yes.
30
1 Q. Other than all those statements we have heard about,
2 have you given any other interviews to anybody else,
3 such as the media, about the events discussed in your
4 various statements?
5 A. Well, the only interview that I gave was to a journalist
6 that had been recommended to me, but who trapped me in
7 giving an interview because he said that he was only
8 coming to my house to speak, but at the same time he was
9 filming me and recording me without my knowing.
10 Q. So am I right in saying that overall you have never
11 received in the past and you don't expect to receive any
12 payment for your account of events?
13 A. No. Never.
14 Q. Thank you.
15 Dealing with background, I think that James Andanson
16 was born with the name Jean-Paul Andanson in 1946, so
17 that he died at the age of 54.
18 A. Yes, that is right. 54, yes.
19 Q. I think you met him in 1971, when you were 17, and he
20 was a photographer on assignment?
21 A. Yes, that is correct.
22 Q. You married in 1972, and had two children, James in 1979
23 and Kimberley in 1988.
24 A. That is correct.
25 Q. Then I think in 1988 you moved to a large house near
31
1 Lignieres called "Le Manoir", and the jury have seen
2 that on video.
3 A. Yes, but we lived in Lignieres before that. We moved to
4 Lignieres at the end of 1980.
5 Q. Now, dealing with Le Manoir, although it was large, I do
6 not think you had any live-in staff, did you?
7 A. No, not living there, no.
8 Q. We have seen that it was a large house with substantial
9 grounds and, is this right, it had an electric gate to
10 the drive?
11 A. Yes. That is right.
12 Q. Now, turning to James' career, we have heard from others
13 that he was a very successful photojournalist.
14 A. Yes, you could say that, yes.
15 Q. I think he worked for the Sygma agency for over 20 years
16 before moving to the Sipa agency at the start of
17 September 1997.
18 A. Yes, that is right.
19 Q. We have already heard that he resigned by sending a fax
20 on 5th or 6th September to Mr Henrotte, the manager of
21 Sygma.
22 A. I do not remember the exact date, but it must have been
23 in this timeframe, yes.
24 Q. Now, in your statement to the British police, you say
25 that your husband had planned his resignation before the
32
1 weekend of 30th/31st August 1997, the weekend of the
2 crash in Paris.
3 A. Yes, it had been going on for several weeks, but he had
4 not made a final decision yet. I just remembered
5 something very precise, that he had decided that he
6 would sell the pictures that he was going to take of
7 Gilbert Becaud in Corsica to the Sipa agency.
8 Q. Now, in terms of his annual work, I think in 1997 and in
9 preceding years he would go down to the South of France
10 for the summer season and to somewhere like Gstaad in
11 winter.
12 A. Yes. Since we got married, that is what we did, yes.
13 Q. You have said in your statement -- and we have heard
14 from others -- that some of his work was photographing
15 famous people by appointment.
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. We have also heard and in fact seen that some of his
18 other work was photographing people in public places,
19 like a paparazzo.
20 A. Yes, in St Tropez maybe a little bit, because there are
21 plenty of VIPs or celebrities and they don't necessarily
22 want to make appointments, so you can take photographs
23 on the beach, et cetera, but I will not elaborate.
24 Q. You said in your statement that about 80 per cent of his
25 work was the photographing people by appointment type of
33
1 work; is that right?
2 A. Yes, absolutely.
3 Q. On a slightly different side of things, you have said in
4 your statement that you are not aware of your husband
5 having had any contacts with the armed forces, police or
6 intelligence services. Is that right?
7 A. No I was never made aware of such a thing.
8 Q. Now, it has been suggested in some places in the press
9 that your husband actually worked for the intelligence
10 services of your country or another. Is that something
11 that you were ever aware of?
12 A. No. Maybe it stemmed from the fact that journalists
13 have discovered that his real first name was "Jean-Paul"
14 and not "James".
15 Q. Can I move on to the family and the family vehicles?
16 I think you had a white Fiat Uno which James bought new
17 in 1988 and which you sold back to a dealer in
18 November 1997.
19 A. Yes, that is right.
20 Q. We have heard from the dealer that he took the Fiat Uno
21 in part-exchange for a Fiat Punto.
22 A. For James Junior, yes.
23 Q. I think your son had in fact passed his driving test in
24 the June of 1997, is that right?
25 A. Yes, that is right.
34
1 Q. As well as this Uno, I think James Andanson, your
2 husband, bought a BMW 3 series in the mid-1990s.
3 A. I could not tell you the precise year, really. We tried
4 to find out with Scotland Yard. I could not be precise.
5 Q. That is fine. But in any event, your husband used
6 the Uno heavily before he bought the BMW and then he
7 used the BMW?
8 A. Yes, as a matter of fact nobody could use really the
9 Fiat Uno anymore.
10 Q. Well, I think after James bought the BMW, the Uno was
11 used by your mother for a short period, is that right?
12 A. Yes, that is right.
13 Q. Then, after your mother returned the car to you and you
14 had the Uno again from some time in the mid-1990s, what
15 was the Uno used for regularly?
16 A. Well, I cannot remember exactly for how long my mother
17 kept the Fiat Uno, but I gave the certificate of
18 registration of her new car, so that was when she gave
19 it back to us, and as I said before, the Fiat Uno was
20 used to move garbage.
21 Q. That is garbage around your family home, is that right?
22 A. Yes, because, you know, the road was quite far away from
23 the house.
24 Q. We have heard from Mr Langlois that the car was in
25 rather poor condition when he got it. What was the
35
1 condition of the car over the period from the time that
2 you got it back from your mother?
3 A. Well, it is not really about the condition which it was
4 at a particular time, especially not when we recovered
5 it, but it is just that it stayed outside for a long
6 time, until November 1997, I think, and the engine was
7 out of order, et cetera, and it was very difficult to
8 drive the 40 kilometres that was the distance between
9 our house and the dealership. You know, when you looked
10 at it, it was like a wreck. It was in a very bad
11 condition.
12 Q. In August 1997, James had a BMW 3 series and I think you
13 as well had a BMW convertible; is that right?
14 A. No, it was not convertible. I also had a 3 series.
15 Q. Maybe one of the documents is wrong about that. But
16 James, I think, was also licensed to ride motorcycles,
17 wasn't he?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. The jury has seen a documentary showing him riding
20 a motorcycle in 1995.
21 A. Yes, he would ride his motorbike in Paris.
22 Q. Did he still have a motorcycle in August 1997?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Can you tell us what type and colour it was?
25 A. Well, the type -- I do not know really, but it was
36
1 a BMW 2 and it was red/orange; a metallic colour.
2 Q. The next question about your family may seem a silly
3 one, but there is a reason. Did you have a family dog
4 in August of 1997?
5 A. Yes, we had a dog.
6 Q. What was its breed and colour, please?
7 A. It was a Labrador, sand colour like a Golden Retriever
8 really.
9 Q. Did you or James ever take the dog on long journeys in
10 the car?
11 A. Never.
12 Q. Now, moving on to summer of 1997, I think the whole of
13 your family went down to the South of France for the
14 summer season.
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. I think that you and your daughter returned from the
17 South of France to Lignieres on 24th or 25th August
18 because she was returning to school.
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. I think your husband and your son, who was then aged 18,
21 remained and your son was helping his father with his
22 work.
23 A. Yes. He helped him a bit.
24 Q. Could you now have a look in the file of documents under
25 divider 9 please?
37
1 Can we have on screen -- this is just in England --
2 [INQ0009107]? Do you see there some entries from your
3 husband's diary?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Now, if we look at those beginning on 23rd August,
6 we see your husband referring to "Lady Di" repeatedly,
7 doesn't he? Do you see references there to "Lady Di"?
8 THE INTERPRETER: What is your question?
9 MR HOUGH: Do you see references to "Lady Di", starting on
10 23rd August?
11 A. Yes, it says "Lady Di" on the 23rd, yes. It is
12 difficult to read.
13 Q. Yes, I appreciate that. Now in your witness statement,
14 you say that your husband had a boat and he followed
15 the boat on which the Princess of Wales was. Is that
16 right?
17 A. Yes, he chartered a boat with other photographers, but
18 there was quite a number of boats.
19 Q. Could we stay with the diary and look at the 25th and
20 26th? It is [INQ0009103]. Do you see a reference on
21 the 25th to dinner in Portofino at 8 o'clock in
22 the evening?
23 A. Yes, they were still in Italy. There were four
24 photographers as a matter of fact. There was my
25 husband, my son and I think two other photographers of
38
1 Sipa.
2 Q. On the following day, if we look towards the bottom, do
3 you see "Retour St Tropez"?
4 A. Yes, it says "Return to St Tropez" on the 26th, and on
5 the 27th he is to pay all of the invoices at the end of
6 the season, which he normally did every year. So it
7 means that he was going to leave.
8 Q. It specifically refers to him paying at Club 55, doesn't
9 it?
10 A. Yes, and then he was due to pay the club -- well, anyway
11 he paid up all his debts before he was to leave.
12 Q. If we look on then to 28th August --
13 A. That is when they came back at lunchtime, I remember.
14 Q. Can you see references there to lunch and dinner at
15 Le Manoir?
16 A. Yes. Just like -- dinner at the Manoir, just like on
17 the 29th.
18 Q. If we look at the 29th, please -- and this is
19 [INQ0009106] for the English version -- do you see there
20 references to Valandraud and Le Pin?
21 A. Yes. It must have been phone calls to make to
22 Valandraud and Le Pin, who are wine producers in
23 Bordelais.
24 Q. Do we see also reference to Valandraud and Le Pin in the
25 memoranda section over on the right-hand side of the
39
1 diary?
2 A. Yes. Every year my husband bought wine from them and
3 that was the time of the year when he called them.
4 Q. Did he also go down and take photographs of
5 chateau-owners of the time of the harvest?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Can you now look at the entry for 30th August? Do you
8 see there a reference to "Rapport sur le voyage de
9 Lady Di"?
10 A. Yes, and right before that, it says "la lettre".
11 THE INTERPRETER: The letter.
12 MR HOUGH: Yes.
13 A. Yes, it was a long letter, as a matter of fact, that he
14 had written to Mr Henrotte to tell him about what had
15 been going on that he had organised, the reason why
16 really he wanted to leave the Sygma agency.
17 Q. Could you look at divider 15 of the file? Can we have
18 up on the screen here [INQ0009206]? If you turn to
19 the third page under that divider, can you see
20 a document beginning "Mon cher H ..."?
21 A. Yes, Mr Henrotte. His name is "Hubert Henrotte".
22 Q. Is that the long letter which your husband refers to on
23 30th August in his diary?
24 A. Yes, it is a letter because it is written -- but
25 actually it was a way for him to release himself, to
40
1 speak out of his heart relating to all his feelings in
2 relation to his relationship with the Sygma agency.
3 Q. Then, if we look back to the diary at tab 9 of
4 the bundle -- and this is [INQ0009106] again -- could
5 you look back at 30th August please? Do you see there
6 references to lunch and dinner at Le Manoir?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Where did your husband, James Andanson, spend the
9 evening of 30th August 1997?
10 A. At home.
11 Q. What was he doing on the morning of Saturday
12 30th August?
13 A. That is when he must have written this long letter.
14 I cannot remember whether it was in the morning or in
15 the afternoon.
16 Q. Did he go out at any point that day as far as you knew?
17 A. Excuse me?
18 Q. Did he, your husband, go out at any point that day as
19 far as you knew?
20 A. I cannot remember. I do not think so. I think he
21 needed to rest. He was very tired.
22 Q. What was his plan for Sunday 31st August, the day after?
23 A. He was supposed to take a flight to Corsica, to go and
24 take pictures of M Becaud, because it could not have
25 happened before he came back from the South of France.
41
1 Q. Now, in the afternoon of that Saturday, is this right,
2 you went to Paris to see Mr Henrotte?
3 A. Yes, that is true.
4 Q. Was the purpose of your visit to persuade him to advance
5 some money for your son's Formula 3 racing career?
6 A. Yes, it was to talk about money in relation to this,
7 yes.
8 Q. Did you travel to Paris and back by car?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. What time of the afternoon did you see Mr Henrotte in
11 Paris?
12 A. I think that it was in the early afternoon, at
13 around 2/2.30.
14 Q. You have told the French and British police that you got
15 home at about 9 o'clock in the evening, is that right?
16 A. Maybe. I do not know anymore. It seems to be a bit
17 late, but yes, I got back in the evening.
18 Q. Now, Mr Henrotte has told us that you were with him
19 between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. Is he wrong or could
20 he be right?
21 A. I do not know why I have this idea that it was in the
22 early afternoon. I may be wrong and it is true that if
23 I met with him at around 4.30, it matches better
24 the fact that I returned at 8 in the evening.
25 Q. Can I deal with something else on 30th August? Your
42
1 husband has provided to the French police, in
2 February 1998, some toll road receipts. Were you aware
3 of that?
4 A. And a plane ticket also, I would imagine.
5 Q. Can we stick with the toll receipts for the moment?
6 The toll company, Cofiroute, provided some further
7 information. Perhaps you could look under tab 6 of
8 the file. This is [INQ0009075]. If we could maximise
9 the lower third of the page, please.
10 Now, if you look at the entries under number 1
11 and 2, please, on the first page of tab 6.
12 A. Yes, I remember. I was asked about it by the British
13 police, but I do not know. I cannot explain.
14 Q. These tickets suggest and this information suggests that
15 somebody using your husband's credit card took a journey
16 to Vierzon in the early hours of the Saturday morning,
17 at about 5 o'clock in the morning. That is what they
18 suggest, isn't it?
19 A. Yes. I have no explanation for this, but that is what
20 it suggests.
21 Q. It also suggests that whoever took that journey made
22 a very quick turnaround in Vierzon. Does that help you
23 to remember what this journey might have been for?
24 A. I do not remember anything about it, but I guess that
25 was submitted to the French police in 1998.
43
1 Q. Yes, it was.
2 Now, if we look at the credit card number shown
3 under these two entries, it is a number ending "1300".
4 That was your husband's regularly-used credit card,
5 wasn't it?
6 A. Yes, that is the case. I also said to the British
7 police that sometimes my husband would lend me his card.
8 Q. Now, while we are on this document, could you look at
9 the third entry please? That, I think, refers to
10 a journey from Bourges, which is near your home in
11 Lignieres, towards Paris, or up to Paris, arriving in
12 Paris at 5.48 on Sunday 31st August 1997 in the early
13 morning.
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. We see again that that is paid for by the credit card
16 your husband normally used.
17 A. Yes. I do not quite understand what number 2 is all
18 about.
19 Q. But sticking with number 3, is that the journey to Paris
20 to take flights to M Becaud in Corsica?
21 A. Yes that is right.
22 Q. Now, can we take that off screen and move away from that
23 document?
24 Was your son at home on the weekend of 30th and
25 31st August 1997?
44
1 A. I think so.
2 Q. On the Saturday night, can you remember where he was?
3 A. I guess he must have gone to Benoit's place, a really
4 good friend of his who he had not seen for two months.
5 Q. Now, he told the French police that he took your car to
6 go to his friend's house that evening. Is that right?
7 A. It is possible.
8 Q. He also told the French police that he returned home at
9 about 12.30 or 1 o'clock in the early morning of the
10 Sunday. Is that right?
11 A. Yes. That was about the time when he would get back
12 home.
13 Q. He also told the French police that your husband was in
14 Bordeaux for the grape harvest that weekend.
15 A. Yes, I do not have the same memory. I do not remember
16 that at all.
17 Q. Well, can we look back at the diary under tab 9, please?
18 This is [INQ0009105]. Could you look at the entries for
19 5th, 6th and 7th September? Do you see there references
20 to Libourne and Petrus on the 6th and the 7th?
21 A. Yes. On the 6th, yes, "Leaves for Libourne".
22 Q. Is Libourne somewhere near Bordeaux?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Under Sunday 7th, can we see "Lunch Petrus at 1 pm".
25 A. Yes, the wine producers near the castles near Bordeaux.
45
1 Q. So the diary seems to suggest that your husband was in
2 Bordeaux on the following weekend, the weekend after
3 the crash.
4 A. Yes. It makes me think that James must have been
5 confused and he must have mistaken one weekend for
6 the other when he said that the previous weekend his
7 father was in Bordeaux. It is impossible that my
8 husband would have come back from the south-east of
9 France and then gone to Paris and then gone to Bordeaux
10 the same weekend. Physically, it is impossible.
11 Q. Now, your son also told the French police that he was
12 certain his father was not at home on the weekend of the
13 crash because he thought his father would have wanted to
14 cover Princess Diana in Paris.
15 A. It is wrong.
16 Q. Now, M Henrotte has told us that he believes that your
17 husband was concentrated on his next assignment and that
18 that was the reason he did not go to Paris. Can you
19 shed any light on the matter?
20 A. Yes, I totally agree with Mr Henrotte. Yes, but you
21 know there were in Portofino when they learned that
22 Lady Di had taken a flight. They did not know what was
23 the destination, but what they knew was that for them
24 it was over. It was going to be another team of
25 photographers that was going to take care of it.
46
1 Q. Now on the night of 30th and 31st August 1997, can you
2 say with confidence that your husband was at home
3 overnight?
4 A. Yes, with certainty.
5 Q. Now, this again may seem a silly question, but it is
6 necessary to ask it: could your husband have got out of
7 bed, travelled to Paris, become involved in a crash and
8 travelled back to Lignieres without you noticing?
9 A. It is impossible.
10 Q. Now moving on to Sunday 31st August 1997, what time did
11 James set off for the airport to fly to Corsica?
12 A. I think it was roughly around 4 o'clock in the morning.
13 Q. Could you look at the diary again? It is under tab 9.
14 Could we have up [INQ0009106] here in England?
15 Can you see the entry for Sunday 31st August?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Do you see there, at 11 am --
18 A. Well, the very first lines you cannot read.
19 Q. Looking at the middle of the entry, do you see, at
20 11.00 am, "RDV Becaud"?
21 A. Yes, and "Emily" is Gilbert Becaud's daughter.
22 Q. Does "RDV" mean "rendezvous" or "meeting"?
23 A. Yes. It says "Emily sujet". It means he has also taken
24 photographs of Emily. I remember that.
25 Q. Could you look at 8 o'clock that evening? The entry is
47
1 "Dinner Caravelle". Is that a restaurant in Corsica?
2 A. Yes. That is what I told Scotland Yard too. It was
3 the same name that we found on his bank receipts.
4 Q. We will see that in a little while. When did James
5 return home from Corsica? What day?
6 A. Well, when I went to England, that is when I could
7 remember. I think he came back the next day.
8 Q. You have referred to him leaving in the early hours of
9 Sunday. Did you receive a telephone call from James on
10 the Sunday in the early morning?
11 A. Yes, I did.
12 Q. What was the time and subject of that call?
13 A. I remember he was not that far away from the house --
14 I cannot remember exactly where he was -- but he told me
15 that he had got a call from a photographer who told him
16 that Lady Di had died and, you know, my husband would
17 call me ten times a day to tell me things, so that is
18 when he told me about it.
19 Q. Now we have seen the toll ticket which shows an arrival
20 at Paris at 5.48 on the Sunday morning.
21 A. Yes. That is it, yes.
22 Q. How long would it have taken for James to drive from
23 Lignieres to Paris at that time in the morning?
24 A. Well, normally it is two-and-a-half-hour journey, but
25 maybe he drove fast.
48
1 Q. Can we now look at the flight particulars that you
2 referred to? These are under divider 7 of your file.
3 It is, for the screen, [INQF0009096].
4 If you can maximise the lower half of the screen,
5 please.
6 Now do you see there, at the bottom of the page,
7 a plane ticket for TAT from Orly in Paris to Figari in
8 Corsica on 31st August 1997?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Do you see that that shows your husband, James Andanson,
11 as the named passenger?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. We will deal with credit cards in a moment. But can you
14 see, under "Mode of payment", a credit card number
15 ending "1014"?
16 A. Yes, the credit card numbers, you know, I do not
17 remember. I think I said that to the police, that my
18 husband had two credit cards.
19 Q. Yes, we will deal with that in a moment. The other
20 point here to note is that the banker's card receipt,
21 which may be faded on your copy, shows that that ticket
22 was bought at 6.23 on the morning of the 31st.
23 A. No, it is hardly legible really.
24 Q. Can we now move to the upper half of the page? Is that
25 a plane ticket from Bastia Airport in Corsica back to
49
1 Orly in Paris on the Monday morning, 1st September?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Again, does that show your husband as the named
4 passenger?
5 A. I submitted to Scotland Yard that receipt and we could
6 have them matched with plane tickets.
7 Q. Yes, and again we see that the credit card number under
8 "Mode de paiement" ends "1014". We will deal with that
9 in a few minutes.
10 Can we now move to tab 8 of the bundle? This is
11 [INQF0009100]. Now is this a document that you
12 recognise?
13 A. Yes, the car rental.
14 Q. Does this car rental invoice refer to your husband and
15 your address?
16 A. Yes. It must have been for the car they rented to go
17 from the airport to M Becaud's house.
18 Q. If we look in the middle of the page on the left, do
19 we see a collection of the car on 31st August at
20 20 past 9 in the morning from Figari?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Do we see a date and time of return, 1st September,
23 the Monday, at 6.51, Bastia?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. We see the total payment, just over 400 francs.
50
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Thank you very much. Can we now turn to the credit
3 cards and the credit card statements? You, I think,
4 provided credit card statements voluntarily to
5 the British police.
6 A. Yes, absolutely.
7 Q. Could you look first under tab 12 of the bundle? This
8 is, for the screen, [INQEMA120001] [INQEMA120002]. Do you see that
9 this refers to the credit card number ending "1300"? If
10 we highlight the "1300" in the middle on the left,
11 please.
12 A. What is this document?
13 Q. This is the covering sheet, the evidence sheet. Then
14 can we move over to the next page, please --
15 A. This is what I gave.
16 Q. Was this the statement for the card which your husband
17 normally used?
18 A. Yes, normally I couldn't tell you. There was no rule
19 really with his cards. I do not know.
20 Q. Do you see at the top that the account is in the name of
21 "M ou Mme Andanson James"?
22 A. Yes, it was a joint account.
23 Q. Yes, exactly. Do we see on that statement an entry for
24 Club 55 on 22nd August which shows James paying his tab
25 there, as we have heard about?
51
1 A. Yes, that is what I was saying earlier, yes.
2 Q. Do we see there, on 31st August, an entry for
3 124 francs, Cofiroute?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. The sum that we see there, 124, is the total of all
6 the three toll tickets that we looked at earlier.
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Then could we turn over to the next page, please? Do
9 you see there entries for Hotel Poretta and
10 La Caravelle?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. We have heard about La Caravelle as a restaurant in
13 Corsica. Was Hotel Poretta a hotel in Corsica?
14 A. Yes, because he spent the night there, the night of 31st
15 to 1st September.
16 Q. So, is this right, this card which you say was normally
17 used by your husband, it bought all the toll tickets and
18 was used in Corsica to pay for the hotel and restaurant?
19 A. Yes, because -- well, anyway, you have the number at the
20 bottom.
21 Q. Now, we need to take a break for one hour for lunch.
22 I think that has been explained to you. I hope it has.
23 I wonder if you could return in just under one hour,
24 please?
25 A. Yes. It means that is going to postpone the hearing of
52
1 my son too?
2 MR HOUGH: We hope not too long.
3 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: We are expecting him at I think
4 half past three French time.
5 A. Okay. Anyway, it does not bother me.
6 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you very much.
7 (12.33 pm)
8 (The short adjournment)
9
10
53
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