Hearing transcripts

23 January 2008 - Morning session

1 Wednesday, 23rd January 2008
2 (9.30 am)
3 (Jury out)
4 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Good morning, Mr Murrell. We
5 hope we have restored the link with you and that you can
6 hear us and we can hear you. Can you hear us?
7 A. Yes, I can hear you from my end and I can see you.
8 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you. We are just having
9 the jury coming in at the moment and then we will begin.
10 (Jury present)
11 MR REUBEN MURRELL (continued)
12 (Evidence via videolink)
13 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Mr Croxford, I think you were
14 partway through your questions.
15 MR CROXFORD: I was, sir. I will try not to break the
16 equipment again.
17 Questions from MR CROXFORD (continued)
18 MR CROXFORD: Mr Murrell, I want to continue from the point
19 that we had reached last time and I was about to put to
20 you what I suggest was a rather more accurate account of
21 events that Saturday afternoon in 1997.
22 The first thing to pick up is: when you became aware
23 that Dodi and the Princess were going to visit
24 Villa Windsor, first of all you ordered your wife to go
25 to your flat, didn't you?

1

1 A. That isn't the term that I would use. Certainly as part
2 of any visit of this type, all the people that weren't
3 directly involved would have been asked to remain out of
4 view, certainly.
5 Q. So you politely asked her to remain out of view, did
6 you?
7 A. I would think that would be normal procedure. That
8 would be my recollection, yes.
9 Q. Do you have normal procedure with your wife?
10 A. I am talking about this in the context of the
11 operational running of the villa and my job, not
12 specifically to my wife.
13 Q. As I suggest, having ordered her to go there, you told
14 her she had to remain there for at least three hours;
15 correct?
16 A. No, that wouldn't have been correct. It would have been
17 unlikely that I would have known at that stage how long
18 the visit would have taken, and so I wouldn't, you know,
19 put a timeframe on how long people would have to be out
20 of view and out of the operational area. Certainly it
21 would have been for the duration.
22 Q. You appreciated, of course, that she could watch events
23 on the close circuit television system from the flat,
24 didn't you?
25 A. I am aware that some of the cameras could have been

2

1 viewed from a fixed monitor in the apartment, yes.
2 Q. You subsequently came to learn from a conversation with
3 your former wife that she had been watching, didn't you,
4 on the CCTV?
5 A. Yes, that's correct.
6 Q. It's also correct, isn't it, that your account of events
7 concerning virtually being hugged by Henri Paul and he
8 having the smell of a man who had had a good lunch --
9 your account of events wasn't accurate, was it?
10 A. My account of events was correct, yes.
11 Q. You spent most of your time, once you came out of the
12 villa, talking with Mr Rees-Jones, didn't you?
13 A. At the time of the visit, I spent certainly a portion of
14 the time where the visit was being conducted outside of
15 the main door stood with Trevor Rees-Jones. I go back
16 to my earlier recollection and comments on our last
17 occasion we spoke: I cannot pin down at what stage -- at
18 what time during this day the visit of Henri Paul took
19 place, whether it was during this immediate visit or
20 just before or just after.
21 Q. Once you came out of the villa, you spent your time
22 talking to your colleague on the close protection group;
23 you had no meaningful conversation or dealing with
24 Mr Henri Paul at all, did you?
25 A. That's correct, yes.

3

1 Q. Indeed the only time that you ever spoke to Henri Paul
2 was just at about the time when you opened the gates to
3 allow the party and both vehicles to leave; correct,
4 isn't it?
5 A. That is correct, yes.
6 Q. As leaving, there was some presumably informal, casual
7 exchange of words, as very swiftly Henri Paul's vehicle
8 passed by you and out into the street; that's correct,
9 isn't it?
10 A. Yes, that is correct.
11 Q. Your former wife eventually became aware of The Sun
12 interview with you, didn't she?
13 A. Yes, that's correct.
14 Q. And you had a somewhat unpleasant conversation about it,
15 didn't you?
16 A. You will have to enlighten me, I do not have that
17 recollection. Can you expand on your question, please?
18 Q. Yes, the account of events which The Sun published under
19 your same as the source concerning Henri Paul pulling
20 you towards him and smelling as if he was a man who had
21 had a good lunch with wine, she put it to you that that
22 was just untrue; that's right, isn't it?
23 A. No, I can't corroborate that. That isn't correct. From
24 my point of view I have no recollection of that
25 whatsoever.

4

1 Q. Do you have any recollection of her challenging you and
2 saying the story in The Sun was untrue and you
3 responding in an aggressive way, telling her to "shut
4 up"?
5 A. No, I have absolutely no recollection of that taking
6 place.
7 Q. Putting it bluntly, you told her that "it had fuck all
8 to do with [her]", didn't you?
9 A. No, I have absolutely no recollection of the
10 conversation that you have put to me.
11 Q. What The Sun published wasn't accurate, was it?
12 A. I have made it clear that there was some parts of it
13 which are not words that I recall saying. This is
14 really definitions of "I am sure that this happened"
15 rather than "It was my opinion".
16 MR CROXFORD: Sir, that's all I wanted to ask. I hope
17 I have been prompt enough for your timetabling this
18 morning.
19 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you very much.
20 MR MANSFIELD: Sir, if I may just mention -- I have
21 mentioned it to my learned friends -- I have adopted
22 Mr Croxford's cross-examination. The witness doesn't
23 actually say that he ever speak to Mohamed Al Fayed so
24 I am not asking him any questions, but may I be
25 permitted just to make Mr Mohamed Al Fayed's position

5

1 clear on certain aspects --
2 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes.
3 MR MANSFIELD: -- that in fact, as far as the two
4 suggestions are concerned coming from somebody else,
5 Mr Mohamed Al Fayed gave no instructions to anyone that
6 Trevor Rees-Jones should not speak to the police and,
7 secondly, gave no instructions to anyone that
8 an interior designer should be mentioned in relation to
9 the villa.
10 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you. Mr Horwell?
11 Questions from MR HORWELL
12 MR HORWELL: Mr Murrell, my name is Richard Horwell and
13 I appear on behalf of the Commissioner of London Police.
14 A. Good morning. I can hear you.
15 Q. Good morning. I have just got a few questions to ask
16 you, please, and the first topic is security. These are
17 certain observations that you have made throughout the
18 long statement that you provided, and the first is this:
19 the security threat assessments to Mr Al Fayed and his
20 family were very low, fairly limited; do you not agree?
21 A. I do agree. I would say that the risk assessment
22 process perhaps was -- was probably not as strong as it
23 might be, but the risk assessment as briefed to us
24 verbally was that, yes.
25 Q. You say this in terms of what it was like to work for

6

1 the Al Fayed organisation: you say that Mr Al Fayed was
2 paranoid that his people were spying against him; is
3 that right?
4 A. Could you just say the question again? I missed the
5 last bit.
6 Q. You say in your statement that Mr Al Fayed was paranoid
7 that his people were spying against him.
8 A. If I can hear you right, you are talking about his own
9 people, his employees.
10 Q. Yes.
11 A. Okay. Yes, there was an indication of that, yes.
12 Q. Mr Murrell, are you having difficulty hearing me or not?
13 A. I just -- on that point, I just wanted to clarify if you
14 were talking about people in general or his people.
15 Q. All right. You go on to say in your statement that, in
16 the organisation, Mr Al Fayed controlled everything.
17 A. In the broad sense, yes, it was extremely micro-managed
18 from Mr Al Fayed, yes. That's my view.
19 Q. In terms, again, of what it was like to work for this
20 organisation, you make it clear in your statement that
21 everyone went around with the fear of being sacked by
22 Mr Al Fayed; is that right?
23 A. That is correct. It was -- it was -- one of first
24 stages of any form of action or disciplinary action was
25 immediate dismissal.

7

1 Q. Dodi and his American girlfriend, Kelly Fisher, you say
2 in your statement that there was information from
3 general chit-chat amongst the team that it was your
4 impression that Kelly Fisher had been put on the
5 back-burner so that Mr Al Fayed could manipulate the
6 relationship between Dodi and Diana. Was that
7 information that you were receiving from other members
8 of staff?
9 A. It was information I received in discussion with
10 Trevor Rees-Jones and Kes Wingfield in relation to
11 occasions in St Tropez where both the Princess was at
12 that location and this woman was on a boat and the boat
13 was kept out of the way with little access to come off
14 that boat.
15 Q. I am going to turn now, please, to the events of
16 Saturday 30th August. You say in your statement -- we
17 know that at the airport there were two cars to take the
18 group away, and Trevor Rees was with Dodi Al Fayed and
19 you were in the Range Rover that was driven by
20 Henri Paul -- I am sorry, we know that Mr Rees was with
21 Mr Al Fayed; yes? You, of course, were at
22 Villa Windsor?
23 A. Yes, I was at the Villa Windsor at that time, so it's
24 third-party information, sorry.
25 Q. Yes, of course. And you report in your statement that

8

1 Trevor Rees spoke to you on the phone and said that he
2 was being followed by a group of paparazzi, and you used
3 these words, that:
4 "Trevor Rees said 'We are going to try and break off
5 from them and come to you'."
6 A. Yes, that's my recollection of that conversation.
7 Q. So the intention then, as expressed by Trevor Rees, was
8 that they were going to do their best to get away from
9 the paparazzi?
10 A. They were going to -- to get away from, I would say yes,
11 but the tactic of "get away from" was to take
12 an alternative route that they thought might not be
13 known by the paparazzi, rather than trying to, you know,
14 outrun them, so to speak.
15 Q. Of course in that they were successful, weren't they?
16 When they arrived at the Villa Windsor, there were no
17 paparazzi behind them?
18 A. Correct, from -- yes, from when they arrived, certainly
19 looking out of the gate for a brief moment, there was
20 nobody directly behind them, and my observation was that
21 leaving, there didn't appear to be vehicles picking them
22 up and following them on the way out.
23 Q. Thank you. When Dodi and Diana arrived at the
24 Villa Windsor, you were invited to take them around?
25 A. That's correct, yes.

9

1 Q. You say this in your statement:
2 "I got the feeling that they were flustered and that
3 she did not seem interested. Her body language seemed
4 a bit stressed. I got the impression that something had
5 happened and I felt it appropriate to leave them alone."
6 Is that right?
7 A. Yes, that's correct.
8 Q. Mr Murrell, this was not a woman who gave you the
9 impression that she was visiting her future home?
10 A. No, certainly not. A brief example is just inside the
11 Villa Windsor there is -- or was at the time a small
12 museum-type area where most visitors would go to first
13 to look at items that had been formerly kept there. But
14 there was no interest shown -- I recall Dodi trying to
15 show her these items and really the body language was
16 that they stood quite far apart and she didn't show any
17 interest. It was at that stage that I decided
18 I probably wasn't -- I wasn't wanted in that situation.
19 Q. We know, of course, that Henri Paul was driving the
20 second vehicle from the airport that Saturday, and we
21 know from evidence, Mr Murrell, that whereas Dodi and
22 Diana were driven directly from the airport to
23 Villa Windsor, we know that Henri Paul drove first to
24 the apartment at Arsene Houssaye. So whenever
25 Henri Paul arrived at Villa Windsor, it must have been

10

1 some time after the arrival of Dodi and Diana.
2 A. I take this as factual from the evidence provided.
3 Q. Yes, these are agreed facts, Mr Murrell. Now, you say
4 in your statement that in fact when Henri Paul arrived
5 at the villa, he was excited about Dodi and Diana being
6 in Paris, and you use these words, Mr Murrell:
7 "I think Henri Paul said something like 'We've hit
8 the big time now, we've got Dodi and the Princess
9 around'."
10 Is that what he said to you?
11 A. My recollection of the wording is not as specific as
12 that. I would go back to my last account of certainly
13 confirming that he was extremely excitable and lent out
14 of the vehicle and grabbed me by the shoulder and was
15 quite verbal. The exact nature of his words I am afraid
16 I just can't recall for you.
17 Q. Mr Murrell, no one is going to press you ten
18 years/eleven years after the event as to precise words
19 that were used, but Henri Paul was plainly excited about
20 the prospect that Dodi and Diana were in Paris that day?
21 A. Again I can go as far as saying he was acting out of
22 character, and a definition or one of the definitions
23 would have been excitable. I am really unable to say
24 what the direct cause of the excitement was, I am
25 afraid.

11

1 Q. All right. I will not press you further, Mr Murrell.
2 I want to turn now, please, to events after the
3 crash. You deal with these at some length in your
4 witness statement. Do you have a copy of it in front of
5 you or not?
6 A. I am afraid I do not have a copy in front of me, no.
7 Q. All right. I am going to read a number of extracts to
8 you, Mr Murrell, to help you. Although some of them are
9 a little long, I think it will actually save time in the
10 short run if I read certain extracts to you. I am going
11 to start with events that are detailed at page 8 of your
12 witness statement. You say this:
13 "Trevor Rees-Jones' family then came over to Paris
14 and went to the Champs-Elysees apartment. I don't
15 remember the date. Paul Handley-Greaves had instructed
16 me as a liaison point for the family. However, on the
17 second or third day after they arrived, I began to
18 become concerned that I was being used as a tool
19 rather than for genuine welfare or assistance.
20 Paul Handley-Greaves' concern was the fall-out from the
21 crash and possible litigation against Mr Al Fayed. He
22 wanted to make sure that Trevor's family were not
23 speaking to the press because he did not know what
24 Trevor knew or what he would say."
25 I am going to stop there, Mr Murrell. Is that

12

1 an accurate summary of the events very shortly after the
2 crash?
3 A. Yes, it is.
4 Q. I will read on:
5 "They wanted media containment to gather information
6 and to keep the family alongside. Because Trevor's
7 family were becoming angry, Paul Handley-Greaves was
8 concerned that they would want to find Mohamed Al Fayed
9 culpable. I had to give daily feedback to
10 Paul Handley-Greaves about who the family were talking
11 to and what they were talking about. When Trevor's
12 family lawyer, whose name I do not remember, was brought
13 in, this raised concern for Paul Handley-Greaves, as did
14 the involvement of Trevor's wife, from whom he was now
15 separated."
16 You say this about Kes Wingfield:
17 "Kes was briefed in London to get into the hospital
18 with me to make sure Trevor did not say anything until
19 he had been briefed. When Kes arrived in Paris, he
20 informed me that Paul Handley-Greaves had briefed him in
21 London and that this would involve trying to get to the
22 hospital before any statements were taken. I guess that
23 meant police statements. It was not clear who would
24 brief Trevor. Kes and I both received calls from Paul
25 Handley-Greaves, instructing us to get into the hospital

13

1 because we could get into the hospital environment when
2 accompanying Trevor's family, although on these visits
3 we had not seen Trevor ourselves."
4 Is that an accurate summary?
5 A. Yes, it is.
6 Q. You go on to say this:
7 "We went to the hospital on several occasions to see
8 Trevor and so knew when it was he would start to regain
9 consciousness. It was at this point that the underlying
10 things were coming to light. I was not happy with that
11 and I did not want to be part of it. When Trevor
12 regained consciousness, his family saw him first. When
13 Kes and I did go in to see him, his jaw was wired and he
14 could not talk and he was using a chalk-board."
15 You say:
16 "I was feeling very uncomfortable with the task we
17 had been given to tell Trevor not to say anything.
18 I did not really think of the motivation behind the
19 message, but I was not comfortable. I did not give the
20 message I was instructed to give to Trevor and Kes did
21 not give it whilst I was present."
22 So you were being asked to prevent Trevor Rees
23 speaking to the media because at that stage it was not
24 known what Trevor would say; is that right?
25 A. That is correct, yes.

14

1 Q. I am going to read on a little further at this part
2 of your statement, when you say this about
3 Paul Handley-Greaves. You say that:
4 "He actually came over during the initial stages of
5 Trevor's hospitalisation and that he was in direct
6 conversation with me and Kes. He indicated that the
7 boss, meaning Mohamed Al Fayed, needs this containing,
8 and this continued later over the telephone when he went
9 back to London."
10 Is that, again, Mr Murrell, an accurate summary of
11 what Paul Handley-Greaves said to you?
12 A. Yes, it is.
13 Q. So you were becoming concerned that the Al Fayed
14 organisation was using you as a tool to prevent whatever
15 it was that Trevor Rees might say from being made
16 public; is that right?
17 A. Yes, that is correct.
18 Q. Now, I want to move on, please, to another incident that
19 you have told us about involving the visit to
20 Villa Windsor by two American journalists. Can you help
21 us as to when that was, Mr Murrell?
22 A. I am afraid I can't. It was some time after the
23 incident. I would have to put a bracket of maybe
24 between two to possibly four months, at an estimate at
25 this stage.

15

1 Q. Right. Now, again, it may in fact be quicker,
2 Mr Murrell, to read the relevant extract from your
3 statement and I will do that. You deal with it in two
4 parts. The first reads as follows:
5 "I particularly recall a visit by two American
6 journalists whose names I do not recall. Franck Klein
7 and Matin hosted their visit. I opened the gate and
8 showed them in. Before they arrived at the villa, I had
9 received a call from David Pinch."
10 Can you remind us, please, who David Pinch was?
11 A. David Pinch was what was commonly known as the head of
12 Mr Al Fayed's personal security team; I guess one
13 operational rank below Paul Handley-Greaves.
14 Q. Thank you.
15 "I had received a call from David Pinch, who told me
16 to tell the journalists that during the visit of Dodi
17 and Diana on 30th August 1997, an Italian designer
18 called Ardo Grossi was also present. I was told to say
19 that they were choosing suitable decoration for the
20 villa and also to indicate that I had overheard them
21 discussing which would be a good room for the new baby
22 and that the grounds would be good for a new baby to
23 play in. I was also to present it as fact that it was
24 their intention to come to the Villa Windsor to live."
25 Is that, again, Mr Murrell, an accurate summary of

16

1 what happened?
2 A. Yes, it is.
3 Q. You go on to say this:
4 "The Americans arrived with Franck Klein and, prior
5 to showing them around, Mr Klein spoke to me and more or
6 less said 'What are you going to say to them?', but not
7 in such a direct fashion. I felt my job was under
8 pressure but I did not want to go down that road, and
9 when I showed reluctance to follow the instruction I had
10 been given, Matin was taken by Franck Klein to take the
11 journalists around.
12 "I remained in the background but saw Matin giving
13 the story that I had been asked to give. At this time,
14 I felt vulnerable. I could see that in respect of my
15 involvement there was a detail issue in relation to the
16 villa visit and which I could see was being used to
17 support the idea that the relationship between them was
18 more serious than it was. This was based around the
19 scenario of being involved and of the villa being used
20 as a more substantial residence for the couple."
21 An accurate summary again, Mr Murrell?
22 A. Yes, an accurate summary.
23 Q. You go on to say this in a later stage of your statement
24 at page 13:
25 "Whilst reading through this statement and prior to

17

1 signature, my memory has been jogged in respect of the
2 visit of the American journalists' visit to the villa.
3 I now remember that the meeting that I had with Mr Klein
4 was also attended by Michael Cole, Mohamed's press
5 secretary."
6 Was that your recollection then, Mr Murrell?
7 A. Yes, it was.
8 Q. "I explained to both Franck Klein and Michael Cole that
9 I had been reminded by Mohamed Al Fayed, via a telephone
10 conversation with David Pinch, to include the presence
11 of Mr Ardo Grossi, an Italian designer, being present
12 during the visit, and to elaborate on his presence in
13 relation to furnishing and decorating the villa under
14 the instruction of Dodi and Diana.
15 "On explaining this to Klein and Cole, I was asked
16 by Michael more about this event. I clearly indicated
17 to him that it was pure fabrication and that I had been
18 instructed to give this information to the reporters.
19 He then alluded to my intention, to which I explained
20 that I felt extremely uncomfortable and reluctant to
21 move away from the truth. Michael appeared both taken
22 aback by the content of what I had told him in relation
23 to being asked to falsify my account of the visit. He
24 then made a call to Mohamed Al Fayed and at this time
25 moved out of my proximity, so I don't know the content

18

1 of the call. On his return, Matin was instructed to
2 take a lead role by Michael concerning the filming of
3 the programme."
4 Again, Mr Murrell, is that an accurate summary?
5 A. It's an accurate summary. The only piece I can't be
6 clear on was whether it was Mr Cole or Mr Klein that
7 asked Matin then to take a leading role, but the summary
8 is correct, yes.
9 Q. If I can just spend a minute or two, please,
10 Mr Murrell -- and then I will finish -- summarising the
11 effect of your evidence: on behalf of Mr Al Fayed, as
12 you understood it, you were being asked to rewrite
13 history; is that correct?
14 A. In your words. My words are that I was being asked to
15 be part of something that I knew to be falsification,
16 certainly.
17 Q. You were being asked to pretend that Diana and Dodi were
18 intending to live together at the Villa Windsor?
19 A. Yes, that's correct.
20 Q. And that was false?
21 A. Yes, that -- well, I can't say it was false. I can only
22 say that the visit that took 26 minutes -- I wasn't
23 being asked to recount that visit, I was being asked to
24 elaborate the time and the detail and add details which
25 I knew weren't part of the visit that I was a witness

19

1 to.
2 Q. Thank you. In addition to that, Mr Murrell, you were
3 being asked to give a false account that could lead
4 others to believe that Dodi and Diana were going to have
5 a baby?
6 A. Yes, that's correct.
7 Q. And you were also being asked, when Trevor Rees was at
8 hospital, to make sure that Trevor Rees said nothing to
9 the press before he had been briefed?
10 A. That is correct, yes.
11 Q. Mr Murrell, if anyone is looking for a conspiracy to
12 pervert the truth, they would not have to look beyond
13 those facts; would you agree?
14 A. Sorry, could you just either say that again or rephrase
15 it slightly? I don't quite understand your question.
16 Q. If anyone is looking for a conspiracy to pervert the
17 truth or to give a false account as to what happened in
18 1997, they would not have to look beyond your evidence
19 or those facts; is that right, Mr Murrell?
20 A. That's correct, yes.
21 MR HORWELL: Thank you.
22 MR HOUGH: Nothing further from me, sir.
23 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Thank you very much.
24 Thank you, Mr Murrell. That's all that we require
25 from you. I am grateful to you for coming back on

20

1 a second occasion and I am sorry that the videolink
2 failed on the first occasion. Thank you.
3 A. Thank you very much.
4 (The witness withdrew)
5 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Now, the next witness is
6 Trevor Rees. Is it necessary to adjourn before he comes
7 or can we press straight on?
8 MR BURNETT: Sir, it will be necessary to remove the screen
9 from the witness box, so if it's convenient could we
10 just adjourn for five minutes?
11 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: We will indeed.
12 (10.10 am)
13 (A short break)
14 (10.15 am)
15 (Jury present)
16 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes, Mr Mansfield.
17 MR MANSFIELD: Sorry, sir, it will only take one minute.
18 There is serious concern arising out of the most
19 recent examination of the witness that particularly
20 serious allegations have been made during that which
21 involve at least two other people -- well, in fact, four
22 other people. Mr Handley-Greaves has made a statement;
23 Mr David Pinch has made a statement about these matters,
24 and you may be aware of what they say about these things
25 that have been put to Mr Murrell.

21

1 However, there are two others. Putting it shortly
2 they are denied, so it's clear, the position. The two
3 others mentioned today, Michael Cole and Franck Klein,
4 are implicated. They have both given evidence and
5 no-one ever suggested, least of all Mr Horwell, to
6 either of them that they were involved in such
7 a conspiracy. If this is an allegation that is to be
8 considered by the jury, may I ask that at some
9 convenient moment either or both of the two who have
10 already given evidence may be recalled to deal with this
11 allegation, and of course the other two who are yet to
12 give evidence, I say no more at the moment because they
13 are in the future.
14 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes. Well, we will look into
15 that.
16 MR MANSFIELD: Thank you very much.
17 MR CROXFORD: Sir, if I may say so, it affects me as well as
18 Mr Mansfield. I was very struck when Mr Horwell
19 decided, a few moments ago, to put the allegation of
20 a conspiracy to pervert the truth or give a false
21 account which had not been put to Mr Klein and I, too,
22 had noticed it had not been put to Mr Cole either.
23 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Well, you had an opportunity of
24 asking Mr Klein and Mr Cole questions. You were well
25 aware of the statement of Mr Murrell that has been put

22

1 to him and it could have been dealt with by you.
2 MR CROXFORD: Oh, it could have been, sir.
3 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: But there is no real advantage in
4 going into who might or who might not have put it at
5 this stage, and we will consider what's the best course
6 at the end of it. But I think it's probably fairly
7 obvious that both Mr Klein and Mr Cole deny what
8 Mr Murrell has said.
9 MR CROXFORD: I am so sorry, sir. The obligation on counsel
10 for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, if he proposed
11 to put this allegation, was to put it.
12 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: This, I would remind you, is
13 an inquiry and not, although one might believe it from
14 time to time, an adversarial process, and I don't
15 propose to get involved in the detail of this at this
16 stage. I will consider whether it's appropriate to
17 recall either of those witnesses in due course. Thank
18 you.
19 MR CROXFORD: I am obliged for that, sir.
20 MR BURNETT: Sir, the next witness is Trevor Rees.
21 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes.
22 MR TREVOR REES (sworn)
23 Questions from MR BURNETT
24 MR BURNETT: Mr Rees, I am confident that the Coroner will
25 be content if you sit or stand as you wish. It may be

23

1 that you would like to sit because you are going to be
2 a little time.
3 A. I will sit.
4 Q. Is your name Trevor Rees?
5 A. It is.
6 Q. Mr Rees, I shall be asking you questions first on behalf
7 of the Coroner, and thereafter you will be questioned by
8 other lawyers here representing various interested
9 persons. Now, it's extremely important that the jury
10 hears what you have to say, and although your voice is
11 being amplified a little from the witness box, it's not
12 a great deal, and I would ask you to keep your voice up,
13 if you would be so kind.
14 A. No problem.
15 Q. Now, Mr Rees, as is well known, you were the fourth
16 person in the Mercedes, on the night that we are
17 concerned with, involved in the crash in the
18 Alma Tunnel.
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Now before I ask you for your recollection of any events
21 leading up to the crash, can I try to establish with you
22 a series of other accounts that you have given over the
23 years, and also then deal first, if I may, with
24 questions about the press and some allegations that are
25 made against you? It just gives you a sense of the

24

1 order in which I am going to do things.
2 Now, Mr Rees, we know and we have heard from others
3 that you were extremely seriously injured in the course
4 of the crash; that's right, isn't it?
5 A. That's correct.
6 Q. It's largely as a result of remarkable treatment given
7 in Paris, particularly by Dr Chikhani, that you have
8 come through this physically as well as you have?
9 A. Yes, I agree.
10 Q. Now, in the course of the French investigation, it's
11 right, isn't it, that you made a number of statements
12 both to the police and then also to the judge in Paris?
13 A. That's correct, yes.
14 Q. And I think you have them with you. I would just like
15 quickly to identify them. You made a very short
16 statement on 19th September 1997, when I think it's fair
17 to say you were still in an extremely poor condition.
18 A. I don't remember making that statement now.
19 Q. You don't even remember making it?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Then you made another statement on 2nd October and
22 a third on 21st December 1997; that is right, isn't it?
23 A. That's correct.
24 Q. Then you appeared before the examining magistrate on
25 6th March 1998 and gave some further evidence to him on

25

1 oath.
2 A. That's correct.
3 Q. You have all those in front of you, should it be
4 necessary to look at them, as I am sure it will.
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Then it's right, is it, that you made a long statement
7 to Metropolitan Police officers which followed extensive
8 interviews with you on 21st December 2004?
9 A. That's correct.
10 Q. Other than those official statements, you also
11 collaborated, as I understand it, in a book called "The
12 Bodyguard's Story"?
13 A. Yes, sir.
14 Q. That was published in 2000?
15 A. 2000, yes, sir.
16 Q. I would like to explore with you a little the way in
17 which that book was written. I think it's right that
18 you did not, in fact, write it. You had a collaborative
19 author who put the text together?
20 A. That's correct. Moira Johnston was the author who
21 brought all the various contributors together.
22 Q. I don't know whether the jury can hear you or whether
23 there is some difficulty over there. Just a little
24 louder, if you would bear with us, please, Mr Rees.
25 So the book was written by Moira Johnston, and

26

1 indeed she appears on the front page or the cover with
2 you and is fully credited with her contribution.
3 A. That's correct.
4 Q. Moira Johnston is an American author, I believe. Is
5 that right?
6 A. I believe so.
7 Q. She is a well-known journalist and also the author of
8 a number of books on a range of topics, but fact rather
9 than fiction.
10 A. So I am led to believe, sir.
11 Q. Is it right that you didn't personally choose
12 Moira Johnston to help you with this book, but her
13 involvement was arranged through your English lawyers
14 and an agent?
15 A. That's correct.
16 Q. Who are your English lawyers?
17 A. At that time it was Mr David Crawford and Mr Ian Lucas.
18 Q. Am I right in thinking that David Crawford has now
19 retired from the practice, but Ian Lucas still
20 represents you?
21 A. I do not have any official representation now, sir.
22 Q. I appreciate they are assisting you, but on a --
23 A. Assisting with advice, I believe.
24 Q. Ian Lucas and David Crawford are solicitors who
25 practised locally to your home in Shropshire; is that

27

1 right?
2 A. That's correct, sir.
3 Q. In the course of the time that has elapsed between the
4 crash and now, I believe that Mr Lucas has also become
5 a Member of Parliament.
6 A. Correct.
7 Q. Moira Johnston, you say, wrote the book. Is it right,
8 then, to assume that the style and the precise language
9 is hers rather than yours?
10 A. No, sir, the -- what I am quoted as saying is what
11 I said, however the style and the -- the style of the
12 book is hers, Moira Johnston's, not mine.
13 Q. You say that you are quoted in the book. The book is in
14 fact written in the third person, as it were.
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. It's not your personal account. You are quoted, as are
17 others.
18 A. Sir.
19 Q. Can we just identify others who you know collaborated
20 with her in providing information to enable the book to
21 be written? One was Kes Wingfield, I think.
22 A. That's correct.
23 Q. The jury are well aware that Mr Wingfield was the other
24 bodyguard on duty in Paris that night. Is it right,
25 also, that your mother provided a considerable amount of

28

1 information?
2 A. Yes, sir.
3 Q. And particularly about events that you know nothing of,
4 in other words the immediate post-crash events as
5 involving you?
6 A. That's correct, sir.
7 Q. Did Dr Chikhani, the Paris surgeon, also provide a great
8 deal of information?
9 A. He was interviewed by Moira Johnston.
10 Q. Similarly did both your English lawyers and your French
11 lawyer, who I think was Maitre Curtil, provide a good
12 deal of information to Moira Johnston?
13 A. Yes, sir.
14 Q. Otherwise, did she use publicly available sources to
15 pull information together?
16 A. I believe so, sir.
17 Q. Because it's obvious, if anyone were to read the book,
18 as I know a number have in court, that a large part of
19 it concerns events of which you can't have any direct
20 knowledge for one reason or another.
21 A. Yes, that's correct.
22 Q. Now, you are aware, I am sure, Mr Rees, that it has been
23 alleged by Mr Al Fayed that the book was written either
24 by or at the behest of the security services and in
25 particular he has mentioned MI6 in this context. Is

29

1 there any truth in that?
2 A. None whatsoever, sir, no.
3 Q. It is also suggested that the book was written with
4 Dominic Lawson, who was the editor of The Sunday
5 Telegraph; is that true?
6 A. That's not correct either.
7 Q. And with Martyn Gregory, who is a journalist who, as you
8 may know, has written a book on this topic which is not
9 supportive of the position that Mr Al Fayed has adopted.
10 Is there any truth in that?
11 A. No. He had no part in that either.
12 Q. He had no part?
13 A. No part at all.
14 Q. Now, it's perhaps only fair, as we are dealing with your
15 accounts, and already have found ourselves having to
16 deal with allegations made against you by Mr Al Fayed,
17 if I were to ask you to comment on a number that have
18 been made. Mr Rees, I do so candidly. What is
19 suggested, in essence, by Mr Al Fayed is that you are
20 part of a conspiracy to suppress the truth, namely that
21 his son and the Princess of Wales and Henri Paul were
22 murdered by the British security services, MI6, call
23 them what you will.
24 You understand that that is the allegation that
25 Mr Al Fayed publicly has made against you?

30

1 A. I understand the allegation, sir.
2 Q. What is your reaction to that allegation at that high
3 level of generality?
4 A. I am not a part of any conspiracy to suppress the truth
5 at all. All I have ever done is given the truth as
6 I see it.
7 Q. Can we look at one or two of the more detailed
8 allegations that Mr Al Fayed has made against you?
9 Could we have on the screen, please, [INQ0008851]? Now,
10 this is a letter that Mr Al Fayed wrote to Lord Stevens,
11 who, as you know, was the Metropolitan Police
12 Commissioner who investigated these matters, on
13 9th February 2006. It may be that you have not actually
14 seen this letter before.
15 A. No, I haven't seen it before, sir.
16 Q. Let us have a look at it and I would ask you to comment
17 on the allegations as we deal with them. The first main
18 paragraph:
19 "Among the topics we discussed was the betrayal of
20 trust by my former bodyguards [and you are named,
21 Kes Wingfield and Ben Murrell]. It is a fact that these
22 men were turned against me by the security services."
23 Now, you can't speak for Mr Wingfield and
24 Mr Murrell, but, Mr Rees, is there any truth in the
25 suggestion that you were turned against Mr Al Fayed by

31

1 the security services?
2 A. No truth whatsoever, sir, no.
3 Q. He goes on:
4 "It was only after the publication of an article in
5 the Daily Mirror ... which described an interview that
6 Piers Morgan had with Trevor Rees-Jones, that the
7 security services became alarmed. They were worried
8 that he may begin to tell the truth. The article says,
9 'In fact his memory is returning all the time -- gently
10 coaxed out of him by highly trained psychiatrists
11 skilled in post-accident trauma'."
12 I will come on in a minute to The Mirror article,
13 but was it true, in February 1998, that your memory was
14 returning all the time?
15 A. Not all the time, sir, no. I believe at that time I had
16 had two memories, if you want to call them that, two
17 flashbacks -- whether they were dreams or memories, I am
18 not sure, but my memory wasn't returning all the time.
19 There was only these two specific points.
20 Q. You had two particular flashbacks, and we will come to
21 them, but perhaps I can just get them from you now. One
22 was that you had a flashback that you heard the Princess
23 saying Dodi's name in the car after the crash?
24 A. I believe I said in the interview a female voice calling
25 out "Dodi" once.

32

1 Q. And the other one?
2 A. Was sitting at a set of traffic lights, which I believe
3 was at the Place de la Concorde, with a paparazzi
4 motorbike by the side of the car.
5 Q. We have heard from Dr Lipsedge already yesterday
6 afternoon -- his statement was read, it being entirely
7 uncontroversial -- that your memory, as he understood
8 the position in April of 1998, essentially ended at the
9 time that you left the Ritz and that anything that came
10 later than that was likely to be unreliable, a false
11 memory. Is that what you understood to be what he was
12 telling you?
13 A. I agree with that position. That's what I believe to be
14 the truth now, sir.
15 Q. If we move on in this letter:
16 "The in fact is that Trevor Rees-Jones did not lose
17 his memory. He knows exactly what happened between
18 Rue Cambon and the Alma Tunnel. He knows the detail
19 which the security services are so eager to
20 suppress ..."
21 He sets out a number of them, with which the jury
22 will be familiar, and then adds that the list is
23 endless.
24 So he is making a very clear allegation there that
25 when you say you have lost your memory, you are telling

33

1 a bare-faced lie, Mr Rees. Are you?
2 A. I am not, sir, no. I have no memory of -- after leaving
3 the back of the hotel, that's my last true memory.
4 Q. He goes on that your book:
5 "... is clear evidence of how you and the others
6 were turned against [him]. The book, which was not
7 written by him, but by the security services is a tissue
8 of lies ...", and so forth.
9 You have dealt with that already. The book was not
10 written by the security services?
11 A. No, sir.
12 Q. Then the next page, please [INQ0008852]. He describes you as
13 "ungrateful" and "deceitful". Just dealing with both of
14 those: ungrateful -- we will come on in due course to
15 the circumstances in which you left Mr Al Fayed's
16 employment, but reading your book, at least, it would
17 seem that you are very grateful to him for the care and
18 support he provided to you in Paris and also when you
19 came back to the United Kingdom because he put you up at
20 60 Park Lane --
21 A. Correct.
22 Q. -- and ensured that you were cared for.
23 A. Yes, sir, I am still grateful for what he did.
24 Q. You are still grateful for that. And "deceitful",
25 perhaps that's the same point.

34

1 Then in the last main paragraph:
2 "They were well rewarded financially ..."
3 Pausing there for a moment, the implication or
4 insinuation there is that you have been paid off by the
5 security services; any truth in that?
6 A. No truth at all, sir, no.
7 Q. Then, additionally, says Mr Al Fayed:
8 "Rees-Jones was appointed as head of United Nations
9 security in East Timor. How can this appointment ever
10 be justified? How can a man with such limited education
11 and experience be put in such a position? The only
12 explanation is that it was an inducement to ensure his
13 continued silence."
14 Were you appointed head of United Nations security
15 in East Timor?
16 A. No, sir, I wasn't.
17 Q. The jury may well remember that East Timor, half of an
18 island in the Far East, was the subject of essentially
19 a civil war.
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. You did in fact work for the United Nations in
22 East Timor, didn't you?
23 A. I did, sir, yes.
24 Q. Is it right that you were a district security officer?
25 A. Correct, sir.

35

1 Q. Of whom there were many?
2 A. There was a number of districts and each one had
3 a district security officer.
4 Q. You reported to the chief security officer?
5 A. Correct, sir, yes.
6 Q. And you were UN employees?
7 A. We were contracted to that particular mission, sir, yes.
8 Q. How did you get that job?
9 A. I applied directly to the Department of Peace-keeping
10 Operations in New York.
11 Q. When was that, roughly? Can you remember?
12 A. Probably about three to four months before I took the
13 employment. I can't remember the exact date, I am
14 afraid.
15 Q. Can you just identify which year you were there.
16 Perhaps even that's a bit hard now.
17 A. 2000 or 2001.
18 Q. I hope that's a fair summary of the allegations that
19 have been made against you. Do you accept that there is
20 anything in them at all?
21 A. There is no truth in those allegations at all, sir.
22 Q. Now, we got into that topic via the book because it's
23 suggested that the security services wrote the book.
24 I would like to ask you next about your involvement with
25 the media.

36

1 Whilst you were recuperating and then back at work
2 on light duties in the early part of 1998, did your
3 employers organise a photoshoot with The Sun?
4 A. I believe that was after The Mirror interview, that
5 there was a photoshoot with The Sun.
6 Q. But that was something for which you were not paid?
7 A. No, sir.
8 Q. Were you aware that Mr Al Fayed had given an interview
9 to the Daily Mirror, Piers Morgan, who I think was then
10 the editor of the Daily Mirror, in February of 1998?
11 A. I have a vague memory of that, sir, yes.
12 Q. It's something that you touch on in your book. We can
13 look at it if we need to. Could I have INQ0019838
14 please? I am sorry, it's the wrong one. Could you give
15 me a moment, sir?
16 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes.
17 MR BURNETT: Here it is. It is [INQ0019834]. If we could
18 just look at the very top to begin with, just to
19 identify where, when and who. This is The Mirror,
20 "Mohamed Al Fayed: my story", "Author: Piers Morgan",
21 12th February 1998.
22 If we could look at the last page, [INQ0019836],
23 perhaps I can just read the top of it. This is the end
24 of the article:
25 "Mr Al Fayed went on, 'After the accident, Diana was

37

1 calling Dodi's name in the car. This is what
2 Trevor Rees-Jones has now told me. He is beginning to
3 remember more and more. She tried to talk. Trevor
4 remembers her saying "Where is Dodi, where is Dodi?"
5 Trevor has been seeing two psychiatrists who specialise
6 in trauma after accidents and he is really coming along.
7 He remembers more every time."
8 Was that an accurate representation of what you had
9 said in February 1998?
10 A. No, sir. I had had meetings with Mr Fayed, but I never
11 said those particular words.
12 Q. You had, though, mentioned to Mr Al Fayed that you had
13 a flashback, a memory of hearing Dodi's name spoken?
14 A. Yes, sir.
15 Q. The psychiatrist was warning you at the time that such
16 flashbacks were likely to be unreliable; is that right?
17 A. He did, sir, yes.
18 Q. And that was Dr Lipsedge?
19 A. Correct.
20 Q. Was it true that you were remembering more every time
21 when you saw the psychiatrists?
22 A. No, that's not correct, sir.
23 Q. Did it concern you to read that being attributed to you
24 in the national press?
25 A. Yes, it did, sir.

38

1 Q. By this stage, am I right in thinking that you had not
2 spoken to any newspaper at all?
3 A. I had not, sir, no.
4 Q. But is it right that the Harrods organisation, if I can
5 call it that -- Mr Al Fayed in one of his guises --
6 arranged for you to be seen by Piers Morgan at the end
7 of February 1998?
8 A. I was asked by Mr Handley-Greaves if I would do
9 an interview with The Mirror. I believe I said yes, but
10 I would need to see the judge prior to making any --
11 having any interview. Then the following day,
12 Mr Piers Morgan was at Harrods. I was informed that he
13 was there. I was a bait to get him there, but I wasn't
14 actually going to be interviewed at that time.
15 Subsequently the interview took place.
16 Q. Just taking that stage by stage, this was initiated by
17 Mr Handley-Greaves?
18 A. Yes, sir.
19 Q. I hasten to add I am not suggesting he did anything
20 wrong in doing that. You were anxious not to speak to
21 the press before you had spoken to the judge. Now you
22 were due to go to see the judge on 6th March, I think.
23 A. I don't remember the exact date. It was towards the end
24 of the month, sir.
25 Q. That's the date of the statement. So what then

39

1 happened, you had agreed in principle to talk to the
2 press?
3 A. I was asked to help the boss out. I sympathised with
4 his position and I agreed in principle that I would
5 speak to The Mirror.
6 Q. So when you went to Harrods, to the Chairman's suite,
7 which is where I think the interview took place -- is
8 that right?
9 A. That's correct, sir, yes.
10 Q. -- did you know it was going to take place?
11 A. I didn't, sir, no.
12 Q. You didn't?
13 A. No.
14 Q. So what happened?
15 A. I was sitting in the security room where there are
16 a number of CCTV monitors. I saw Mr Piers Morgan on one
17 of the monitors. I spoke to Mr Handley-Greaves, asking
18 if he was there to see me. Mr Handley-Greaves said that
19 I was the bait to get him to the offices, that he was
20 seeing Mr Fayed on a different matter, but if I was to
21 go and say "hello" to him, that would be that for that
22 time.
23 Q. Yes. Now did you then sit down with Mr Morgan and talk
24 to him?
25 A. I did, sir, yes.

40

1 Q. For roughly how long?
2 A. I can't remember the duration, I am afraid.
3 Q. Then without necessarily going to them, the fruits of
4 that interview filled The Mirror for, I think, four days
5 or substantially provided its leads.
6 A. Yes, sir.
7 Q. How did you feel at the time about the circumstances in
8 which that interview had come to pass?
9 A. I felt that it was sprung on me to a certain extent. As
10 I said, I had agreed in principle, however I fully
11 intended to speak to the French judge prior to saying
12 anything to the press. And also that the way that it
13 was written I think didn't actually state the facts as
14 I had said them to Mr Morgan.
15 Q. Were you concerned that when this all came out -- and
16 just to remind you, it was trailed, as so often is the
17 case, in The Mirror one day, and then it appeared on
18 subsequent days -- were you concerned that people might
19 believe that you had sold your story?
20 A. I was, sir, yes.
21 Q. Because that's something you had not done?
22 A. I had not sold my story, no, sir.
23 Q. And something you weren't intending to do?
24 A. Not at all.
25 Q. And indeed didn't do?

41

1 A. No, I didn't, sir.
2 Q. Did you put out a press release making that clear?
3 A. A press release from my solicitors made that point very
4 clear, sir, yes.
5 Q. As a result of -- again I don't think one needs to go to
6 the press release because this won't be controversial at
7 all -- but as a result of that, was there in fact
8 generated an enormous amount of press interest which
9 resulted in your being offered enormous sums of money?
10 A. Correct, sir.
11 Q. Is it right that in the days that followed, you were
12 offered a total of about half a million pounds by
13 British newspapers and a further million dollars by
14 an American newspaper?
15 A. Yes, sir, that's correct.
16 Q. But you turned them all down?
17 A. I did, sir, yes.
18 Q. And you didn't take a penny for The Mirror interview?
19 A. No, sir.
20 Q. But you asked that whatever might have been the proceeds
21 should go to charity?
22 A. I believe that's what we did, sir.
23 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Have you ever received any
24 compensation for the injuries that you sustained in the
25 crash?

42

1 A. No, sir, I haven't.
2 MR BURNETT: So then The Mirror publishes the stories and
3 repeats the suggestion that your memory is returning,
4 which is something, as you have explained to the jury,
5 you know to be wrong or you knew to be wrong.
6 A. Yes, sir.
7 Q. Then, just a few days later, did you go to Paris and see
8 the judge?
9 A. Yes, sir. It was arranged to see the judge earlier than
10 intended, obviously because The Mirror interview had
11 been released.
12 Q. One of the first things he suggested to you was that he
13 was aware that it had been in the press that you had
14 a returning memory.
15 A. I don't remember exactly what he said, sir. I would
16 have to look at my statement.
17 Q. Do you have that one handy, Mr Rees? This is
18 6th March 1998. (Pause)
19 A. I can't find it in this bundle, I am afraid.
20 Q. If it takes you a little bit of time, it may be that
21 somebody can help me out and provide you with a copy
22 which hasn't got large numbers of markings on it.
23 Mr Hough has one.
24 A. Sir, I have found it.
25 Q. Mr Rees, I am getting messages from those around me that

43

1 some are having difficulty in hearing you. I appreciate
2 I am the one asking you questions and I can hear you,
3 but it's really the jury and others who need to hear
4 just as much as I do.
5 Can I just read to you some extracts from this, if
6 you look at it with me, and then you can confirm that
7 it's right. This was before Judge Stephan, the
8 examining magistrate -- we all know who he is -- and he
9 said this to you:
10 "According to certain information that has appeared
11 in the press, you now apparently remember information
12 regarding the events. What can you tell us about this?
13 "Answer: I should like to say that the interview
14 with the journalists from the Daily Mirror was organised
15 by my employers. I was not expecting the journalists to
16 ask me the questions they asked me regarding the
17 accident. As they raised the subject, I replied as best
18 I could.
19 "Having given the interview, I did not think that it
20 would be published before seeing you on 16th March. The
21 interview was seen and corrected by myself and I was
22 satisfied with what was said. I should like to say that
23 what I said corresponds to the truth, unlike what I have
24 seen elsewhere; what I can remember and what I think is
25 the truth, my truth, and I would never say anything

44

1 which is not the truth.
2 "I have seen psychiatrists several times since my
3 return to England. Obviously since I have returned to
4 work, I have seen these psychiatrists more frequently.
5 The memories that have come back to me did not come back
6 all at once. For several weeks I have had various
7 memories, but I should not like to express them before
8 being sure that they are true memories. I have
9 mentioned what I remember to my psychiatrist. I have
10 been told that it was impossible to be sure that these
11 were real things and not influenced by what I have
12 heard. For myself I am not sure all the time, sometimes
13 I am not sure."
14 Then the question:
15 "In relation to what you have said to date with
16 regard to the events prior to leaving the Ritz before
17 the accident, do you have any additional memories since
18 your last interview?
19 "Answer: I confirm what I have said to date
20 regarding this part of the day and I do not have
21 anything to add.
22 "Question: Could you incorporate the new memories
23 and go over the sequence of events from the departure
24 from the Ritz via Rue Cambon?
25 "Answer: As I have already said, I remember getting

45

1 in the Mercedes in Rue Cambon. As the Mercedes set off
2 we were followed by vehicles that were waiting for us to
3 leave. I remember that there was a small light-coloured
4 estate vehicle and one or two motorcycles. The new
5 memory that I have is of the traffic lights, which can
6 only be the ones at the Place de la Concorde in relation
7 to the route that we took. I remember that we stopped
8 there. At that point I turned round to look out of the
9 window behind us. I then saw that a motorcycle had
10 arrived on the right-hand side of the car and had
11 stopped. I am not sure about the other vehicles, but
12 I can remember this motorcycle very clearly. When our
13 vehicle moved off, there were lots of flashes -- from
14 photographers, I presume.
15 "The other memory that I have is very vague.
16 I remember being seated in the car when the accident
17 must already have taken place. My memory then is of
18 total confusion. I do not remember the pain but in my
19 head there was a lot of confusion. I do not remember if
20 somebody was holding me or attempting to give me
21 treatment.
22 "I remember having heard somebody moaning and the
23 name 'Dodi' was uttered but I do not know if this was
24 once or several times. If there were people present,
25 I do not know who said it. On the other hand, if there

46

1 was nobody else apart from us, I conclude that it was
2 Princess Diana as it was a female voice.
3 "I should like to add that these memories are vague
4 and sometimes I myself doubt them, but I am mentioning
5 them as these memories are coming back to me repeatedly.
6 I am well aware of the dangers of false memories that
7 the psychiatrist spoke to me about, but I have told the
8 truth as I remember it."
9 If we stop there. Was that an accurate description
10 that you gave to the judge on 6th March 1998?
11 A. Yes, sir, that's accurate.
12 Q. So those answers record the two memories that had come
13 back to you?
14 A. Yes, sir.
15 Q. But also mentioned the doubts concerning false memories
16 that you had been warned about by your psychiatrist?
17 A. Yes, sir.
18 Q. Moving on to complete the picture, following that
19 interview, were your lawyers, your English lawyers,
20 happy that you had given an interview to the press?
21 A. No, they weren't happy at that time.
22 Q. Were you happy at the circumstances in which the
23 interview had come to be made?
24 A. In relation to --
25 Q. The Mirror interview.

47

1 A. No, as I said previously I felt it was -- the actual --
2 when the interview took place, it was sprung on me, if
3 you like to call it that way --
4 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: You are speaking very, very
5 quietly again. I must ask you to try and project your
6 voice to the jurors at the back.
7 A. No, I believe that interview was sprung on me. However,
8 I did take the decision, once I was sat there, that
9 I carried on with the interview.
10 MR BURNETT: Now when you went to Paris to see the judge,
11 did you have some dealings with the Ritz or others in
12 Mr Al Fayed's organisation?
13 A. In relation to what, sir? I do not understand the
14 question.
15 Q. There are two particular events that I want to ask you
16 about by reference to your book. Do you have a copy of
17 the book handy?
18 A. I do not, sir, no.
19 Q. Maybe one can be found for you. (Handed) If you could
20 turn to page 262, please. You are here, at the bottom
21 of page 262, describing a meeting that occurred at the
22 Villa Windsor on the morning of the day you saw the
23 judge --
24 A. Yes, sir.
25 Q. -- where you met Mr Klein. If I could pick it up and

48

1 just read a couple of paragraphs to you, and then ask
2 for your comment, please:
3 "Events that morning [this is the end of the
4 penultimate paragraph, Mr Rees, if you could locate it
5 at the bottom of page 262] at the Villa Windsor
6 convinced him that it was time to act on his smouldering
7 concerns. There inside the villa he had been confronted
8 with a letter that Franck Klein had urged him to sign.
9 Klein handed the letter to Trevor, who glanced over it
10 and was outraged. Then it's in quotation marks:
11 "'They were asking me to sign a letter which
12 basically said I wanted Christian Curtil to investigate
13 the crash and David and Ian to sort out things in
14 Britain. They didn't want them to have contact'.
15 "With a rebelliousness his lawyers had not seen,
16 'I absolutely lost my temper. I swore at them: how dare
17 you? These are my lawyers. I refuse to sign it'."
18 Then you say:
19 "Seeing Trevor swinging his arms, furious, Klein
20 asked Ben to stay in the room."
21 Then in quotation marks:
22 "'This letter was finally it. I just felt totally
23 used by Fayed, more than anything'. As soon as they had
24 left the villa, he called Ian ...", that is your
25 solicitor, Ian Lucas?

49

1 A. That's correct, yes.
2 Q. "... on his mobile phone to report the event. He then
3 called Christian, and told him."
4 You say:
5 "'Then Ben, Darren and myself drove to Curtil's
6 office'."
7 Then you go on:
8 "Going through what he was going to say to the
9 judge, Trevor had little time at the meeting with
10 Christian and David to do more than show David the
11 letter. 'It was clearly a very clumsy attempt to drive
12 a wedge between us and expose differences which didn't
13 exist', David swiftly saw as he slipped it into his
14 briefcase. They would discuss it later."
15 Now, did that incident happen?
16 A. Yes, it did, sir, yes.
17 Q. Have you asked your solicitors to see whether that
18 letter is still in their possession?
19 A. I have asked them. At the moment it can't be found, but
20 I believe they are still looking.
21 Q. Perhaps the precise content of the letter is immaterial,
22 but you interpreted it as an attempt to drive a wedge
23 between you and your English lawyers and you were having
24 nothing of it?
25 A. I just felt it was, yes, an attempt to limit what they

50

1 could do on my behalf, that Christian would deal with
2 the French inquest and that my British solicitors would
3 deal with anything in Britain. The crux of the matter
4 was that they would not speak to each other, which
5 I wasn't happy with, obviously.
6 Q. Having given your evidence to the French judge and
7 returned to London -- I assume by Eurostar, or that is
8 as you put it in your book; do you remember that?
9 A. Vaguely, sir, vaguely.
10 Q. -- you were asked to meet "the boss", as he was
11 universally called in the organisation. That's
12 Mr Al Fayed.
13 A. Yes, sir.
14 Q. This is dealt with at page 265 and page 266 of the book.
15 Again perhaps I could read it and then would you be good
16 enough to say whether it's an accurate account of what
17 happened or tell us if there is anything you would wish
18 to change.
19 A. Okay, sir.
20 Q. "'I got back to London on the Eurostar late that
21 afternoon and the boss wanted to see me at Oxted.
22 Paul Handley-Greaves drove me down on his own and then
23 I had to deal with the boss'."
24 That's in inverted commas.
25 "Trevor was led to the boss's big tent out on the

51

1 lawn and Trevor could see he wasn't happy at all. 'Why
2 did you go with the Embassy? It's MI6 trying to get
3 you', Fayed exploded. 'No, it isn't', Trevor snapped
4 back. 'I asked our lads to come on behind in the car'.
5 Fayed turned to an attack on Ian and David."
6 They were your solicitors?
7 A. Correct, sir, yes.
8 Q. "It was always a bit of a monologue when the boss
9 started losing his temper."
10 He then made some remarks about your solicitors and
11 added:
12 "'You betrayed me, you wouldn't sign the letter,
13 you fought with Franck Klein, took the Embassy
14 transport'."
15 And then he accused you of disloyalty?
16 A. Correct.
17 Q. That's right, is it?
18 A. That's an accurate account, sir, yes.
19 Q. You were not happy with that, and you say this:
20 "The boss was fuming now, sort of chanting, implying
21 an ultimatum, 'be loyal or leave'. 'I will take this
22 for a certain amount of time, but enough's enough',
23 Trevor stormed inside. 'Do you want me to make
24 a decision now if I am going to leave work or not
25 because I will make a decision. I will stand up and

52

1 walk out of here'. Trevor was getting up to leave as
2 Paul Handley-Greaves intervened, calming the boss down.
3 The shouting stopped. Fayed said, 'No, no, don't make a
4 decision now'."
5 The extract goes on:
6 "Trevor had already made it. David and Ian had been
7 pressing him, if he wouldn't quit straightaway, to at
8 least take a leave of absence. He had come round to
9 seeing their position. He didn't want to leave work but
10 he could see that he needed a bit of time away.
11 "'I am asking for leave of absence. I need to make
12 up my mind', he told the boss. As Trevor left the tent,
13 the boss, still seated, called out a civil farewell,
14 'Fine, fine, take care of yourself' as Handley-Greaves
15 stayed on."
16 So that was your final meeting, was it, with
17 Mr Al Fayed?
18 A. I can't remember if it was the final meeting, sir, but
19 that meeting did happen and that's a fair account of
20 what happened.
21 Q. Now, in the course of that account, there was
22 a reference, as I read out, to something to do with the
23 Embassy and the lads coming behind in a car. Was there
24 in fact some tussle in Paris as to who should drive you
25 to the judge?

53

1 A. There was. I travelled to Paris with one of the -- with
2 Darren from the Park Lane team. I met with Mr Klein, as
3 I said, and then went to my solicitors' or -- my
4 lawyers' office. They had arranged transport through
5 the British Embassy in Paris. My lawyers wanted me to
6 travel with the British Embassy transport; Mr Fayed
7 wanted me to travel with Ben and Darren in Fayed's
8 vehicle. So at that stage I felt I was being pulled in
9 two ways. I made a decision to travel with the Embassy
10 transport but ask Darren and Ben to follow on in their
11 vehicle.
12 Q. We have jumped ahead, as it were, because that has you
13 telling the jury how your employment with Mr Al Fayed
14 effectively came to an end and the circumstances in
15 which that happened. As you appreciate, it all sprang
16 from the suggestion that the book was written by the
17 security services and all the things that followed.
18 What I would like to do now, Mr Rees, if I may, is,
19 in perhaps rather more conventional terms, take you back
20 to tell your story to the jury.
21 It's right, I think, that you joined the
22 British Army having done A levels at school.
23 A. That's correct, sir.
24 Q. You went into the parachute regiment?
25 A. Yes, sir.

54

1 Q. And joined the first battalion of the parachute
2 regiment?
3 A. Yes, sir.
4 Q. As part of your training in that, you did a close
5 observation course?
6 A. Yes, sir.
7 Q. And in due course you left the army at the end of 1992?
8 A. Correct, sir.
9 Q. Having left the army, you were interested in going into
10 private protection; is that right?
11 A. Not initially, sir, but eventually, yes.
12 Q. You did a couple of civilian close protection courses?
13 A. Correct, sir.
14 Q. Then, in 1995, you commenced employment with
15 Mr Al Fayed's security apparatus --
16 A. Yes, sir.
17 Q. -- having been interviewed by Mr Handley-Greaves, about
18 whom we have already heard a fair amount.
19 A. Yes, that's right.
20 Q. Perhaps I can take the next bits relatively quickly:
21 initially your job involved being part of the team that
22 guarded the Park Lane property; that's 55 and
23 60 Park Lane.
24 A. That's correct, yes, sir.
25 Q. You were in the operations room at Park Lane as part of

55

1 that job from time to time?
2 A. Part of those duties was in the operations room, yes.
3 Q. Then you moved on to be part of Mr Al Fayed's -- that's
4 Mr Al Fayed Senior -- close protection team?
5 A. That's correct, sir.
6 Q. Of whom there were a number who worked when Mr Al Fayed
7 was in London?
8 A. Yes, sir.
9 Q. There were different security arrangements in place for
10 his various residences around the world?
11 A. That's correct, sir.
12 Q. The way you worked was a week on and a week off?
13 A. A week on, a week off generally, and then in the summer
14 it was usually two weeks on, two weeks off.
15 Q. But having been in Mohamed Al Fayed's close protection
16 team for some time, you moved within the security
17 organisation to become Dodi's personal bodyguard?
18 A. Correct, sir.
19 Q. Do you remember when that was, Mr Rees? It's not a date
20 that appears in your statement.
21 A. I am afraid I don't remember the exact date of it, no.
22 Q. But you note in your statements that Dodi was
23 essentially a private person, he wasn't known to the
24 press, and you say that even when he was out and about
25 with Kelly Fisher, who was quite a well-known model,

56

1 there wasn't really any press interest.
2 A. No, there was no press interest at that time.
3 Q. Your counterpart or the other man who worked with you as
4 Dodi's security was John Johnson.
5 A. That's correct.
6 Q. The routine was that when you were on duty, you simply
7 went with Dodi Al Fayed wherever he went when he was in
8 the United Kingdom?
9 A. That's correct, sir.
10 Q. And in particular you drove him around to his
11 engagements?
12 A. Correct.
13 Q. This you did whilst he was in the UK; in other words you
14 didn't usually travel with him to America or anywhere
15 else in the world?
16 A. No, I never travelled with him to America and only
17 perhaps once or twice to France when he went there.
18 Q. Now, you say in your statements that whilst neither you
19 nor Dodi was necessarily a habitual seatbelt-wearer in
20 those days, certainly not in towns, there was no
21 question of Dodi pressing you to break traffic rules.
22 He did not put pressure on you in that way?
23 A. Not as such to break traffic rules. He liked to be
24 continually moving in traffic, didn't like to be sitting
25 still in traffic jams, but didn't actually ask me to

57

1 break traffic rules, no, sir.
2 Q. I suppose we all get frustrated sitting in traffic jams,
3 it would be unusual perhaps not to, but there was
4 nothing exceptional about it?
5 A. No.
6 Q. With that by way of background, can I take you forward
7 to the trip to St Tropez in July 1997?
8 A. Yes, sir.
9 Q. Again, the jury have heard a great deal about this and
10 we have a very clear chronology of events. It's right,
11 is it, that you went to St Tropez in July 1997?
12 A. I journeyed there with Dodi, which was just after the
13 start of the family holiday.
14 Q. He had come to London from Paris and then flew down to
15 St Tropez; is that right?
16 A. That's correct, sir, yes.
17 Q. Your job, whilst he was in St Tropez, was what?
18 A. I just fitted in with the security team there.
19 Obviously if Dodi went out on his own in the evening,
20 I would take the lead on that, but generally, during the
21 day, I just slotted in with the security team that was
22 on the ground at the time.
23 Q. I don't think I need ask you anything further about what
24 happened during the St Tropez holiday, middle of July,
25 as it were. After that, you had a two-week holiday of

58

1 your own?
2 A. Yes, sir.
3 Q. So it follows that you did not go with Dodi and Diana to
4 Paris at the end of July?
5 A. No, I didn't, no.
6 Q. Neither did you go with them on the first Jonikal trip
7 which started towards the end of the first week of
8 August?
9 A. I didn't attend on that trip, sir, no.
10 Q. But you did go on the second Jonikal trip?
11 A. Yes, sir.
12 Q. Can I move forward to that? You say in your statement
13 that you offered to go on that trip; that's right, is
14 it?
15 A. Yes, I had reached the end of my rotation at that time.
16 John Johnson was no longer on the team -- I don't know
17 the reason behind that -- so someone else had been asked
18 to go, but I volunteered, having dealt with obviously
19 the Princess and Dodi over the previous two weeks, so
20 I volunteered myself to go.
21 MR BURNETT: Can everyone hear okay? Good. The other
22 bodyguard who was with you from Mr Al Fayed's
23 organisation was Kes Wingfield; is that right?
24 A. Kes met us down in St Tropez when we landed on the G4.
25 Q. The G4 is what?

59

1 A. It's Mr Fayed's private jet.
2 Q. Kes Wingfield was not normally one of Dodi's bodyguards?
3 A. No, Kes was part of one of the Oxted teams.
4 Q. Those are the teams that look after Mr Al Fayed, his
5 family and property in Surrey?
6 A. Correct, yes, sir.
7 Q. Two of you, the only two, is that right, providing
8 security?
9 A. We were the only two on that trip.
10 Q. How did you deal with it, just two of you covering
11 24 hours?
12 A. We had to accept that we couldn't cover 24 hours if --
13 so while the yacht was moored or sailing, we took our
14 downtime then. We had to -- during the very early hours
15 of the morning, we took our rest and were up in the
16 morning when the couple rose, but we couldn't actually
17 cover fully 24 hours with just two people.
18 Q. Did you query with Mr Handley-Greaves the fact that
19 there were only two of you?
20 A. Once I volunteered to go on the trip, I asked who would
21 be going with me. He mentioned that Kes would be
22 meeting us down there. Having spoken to John Johnson at
23 the start of that rotation about the problems he had had
24 on his trip to St Tropez, I asked if there was any more
25 going, but I was told that, no, just Kes would be the

60

1 only one that's meeting us there.
2 Q. Did you raise that as a possible problem with
3 Mr Handley-Greaves?
4 A. I raised it as a concern that perhaps we needed more
5 people, but I didn't force the issue after I was told
6 that Kes was meeting us.
7 Q. Now you say in your statements -- again I think it's
8 uncontroversial so I will lead you on this, if I can do
9 so quite quickly -- that the itinerary was decided on
10 a day-to-day basis.
11 A. That's correct, yes, sir.
12 Q. In other words you never knew where you going until the
13 last minute?
14 A. No, we didn't have a plan.
15 Q. You spoke to London, you say in your statement, once
16 a day.
17 A. We would have spoken to London once -- at least once
18 a day if we were static. However, we would have
19 informed London or the St Tropez operations room when we
20 were moving locations.
21 Q. Right. When you say "spoke to London", who do you mean?
22 A. That's the Park Lane operations room.
23 Q. Can I ask you a little bit about that? Is the Park Lane
24 operations room essentially the operational hub of
25 Mr Al Fayed's security arrangements everywhere?

61

1 A. It's the co-ordinating centre. But when the family are
2 on holiday, there is an operations room set up wherever
3 the family is based. So if at the time we would have
4 reported perhaps to the St Tropez operations room, but
5 they would have then informed London who would have
6 recorded all movements.
7 Q. So the purpose of speaking to the operations room in
8 London or in St Tropez is what?
9 A. Is to log and record locations of the family.
10 Q. Now, to begin with, the paparazzi, you say, were not too
11 much of a problem; that's your recollection, is it?
12 A. Not at the start, no.
13 Q. Now you recollect, I think, that the yacht, the Jonikal,
14 put into Monte Carlo on one day.
15 A. Yes, sir.
16 Q. That we know was 23rd August.
17 A. I don't remember exact dates.
18 Q. Did Dodi and the Princess go ashore?
19 A. Yes, sir, they did.
20 Q. Who else went ashore?
21 A. Myself, Kes and Rene Delorm, Dodi's butler.
22 Q. In the course of the trip ashore, can you remember what
23 Dodi and Diana did?
24 A. That was just basically a walk around St Tropez.
25 Q. Monte Carlo.

62

1 A. Sorry, around Monte Carlo. It wasn't a stroll. It
2 turned into a more of a steady walk rather than a window
3 shopping.
4 Q. So it wasn't to go ashore for a meal, for example?
5 A. No, sir.
6 Q. You are aware, aren't you, that there has been
7 a suggestion -- again it's a matter about which the jury
8 has heard a great deal -- that Dodi and Diana chose
9 a ring in Repossi's in Monte Carlo on that shore visit
10 on 23rd August; you are aware that that is --
11 A. I am aware that that's being said, sir, yes.
12 Q. Did that happen?
13 A. No, sir, it didn't.
14 Q. Now, having been in Monte Carlo, the yacht continued its
15 perambulation around that part of the Mediterranean, and
16 I don't need to trouble you with any of the fine detail.
17 We will come in a moment to the 30th when you flew
18 to Paris.
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. When did you find out that you were going to Paris, and
21 that they, Diana and Dodi, were going to Paris?
22 A. I believe we had had a rumour either the day before, but
23 I don't believe it was confirmed until quite late --
24 either -- it would have been probably the night before
25 that we took.

63

1 Q. So that's on Friday the 29th?
2 A. To my recollection, it would have been the 29th, sir,
3 yes.
4 Q. Now, was it one of your functions, that's to say your
5 function and Kes' function, to make arrangements for
6 local transport to get everybody from the yacht to the
7 airport in Sardinia which is where we know you flew
8 from?
9 A. Yes, we would have facilitated the local transport.
10 Q. But would you have had any role in arranging or
11 facilitating the private jet coming to pick them up?
12 A. No. That would have been organised through Park Lane in
13 London.
14 Q. So at some stage Park Lane must have been told about
15 this to enable the arrangements to be made for the jet
16 to come down and pick everyone up?
17 A. Yes, sir. I believe -- when I would have been informed
18 that there was a possibility, I would have told
19 Park Lane straightaway about that.
20 Q. Yes. Do you actually remember doing that or is that one
21 of those things that it was simply part of the job and
22 so you would have done it?
23 A. It's just part of standard practice. I don't remember
24 the specific phone call.
25 Q. We have got what is said to be an accurate record --

64

1 it's a typed version from an original of the log at
2 Park Lane -- and it shows nothing at all between
3 27th August 1997 at 4 o'clock and a call at 11.35 on the
4 30th -- that's the Saturday morning -- saying that Dodi
5 and the Princess were on the Gulf Stream to Paris.
6 A. That -- I can't comment on what's recorded there.
7 I know for a fact we would have informed London, who
8 would then have informed Paris to arrange the jet and to
9 arrange reception at Paris. That's standard practice.
10 Q. If this log is accurate, there would appear to be two
11 days of complete silence from you and Kes Wingfield, and
12 similarly, earlier in the log, if the log is accurate --
13 I have no reason to doubt that this part is accurate --
14 there is a gap of three days from the 21st until
15 the 24th where there is nothing recorded from you and
16 Kes. Does that sound right to you?
17 A. That doesn't sound right to me, sir, no.
18 Q. What sort of records would you expect there to be at
19 Park Lane or in one of the other operations room to
20 support a decision taken by somebody, assume Dodi, and
21 then asking his father, perhaps, to borrow a jet? What
22 sort of records would there be to evidence exactly when
23 the decision was made and the arrangements made for the
24 jet?
25 A. I believe there would have been a record of my initial

65

1 telephone call informing them of the intentions of the
2 couple to go to Paris, and then there would probably be
3 flight timings put down so they could inform me of when
4 the G4 would arrive in Sardinia and what our slot time
5 would be for take-off.
6 Q. Anyway, you weren't in London so you can't say what
7 records were kept, but that is something that we might
8 be able to pursue by asking questions of others.
9 A. Yes, sir.
10 Q. Now, so far as the trip to Paris is concerned, I think
11 we know -- and it's uncontroversial -- that in addition
12 to you and Kes and your principals, that's Dodi and
13 Diana, Debbie Gribble, Myriah Daniels and Rene Delorm
14 were also on the plane.
15 A. Yes, sir.
16 MR BURNETT: I will next take up the story on arrival in
17 Paris, sir, and it may well be that that is as good
18 a moment as any to have the short break.
19 LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes. We will break off for
20 quarter of an hour.
21 (11.25 am)
22 (A short break)
23 (11.40 am)
24 (Jury present)
25 MR BURNETT: Now, Mr Rees, we were, I think, about to touch

66

1 down in Paris. I will take up the narrative with you
2 there, if I may.
3 Was it part of your function or Kes' function to
4 make any arrangements regarding transport in Paris?
5 A. No, sir. We left that to -- as I say, to either London
6 ops or to Ben in Paris to arrange that side of things.
7 Q. Again there must have been communication between the
8 security side of London and Paris to organise cars and
9 all that sort of thing?
10 A. Yes, sir, there would have been.
11 Q. Now you nonetheless were, with Kes, taking the lead and
12 responsible for the personal security of both your
13 principals?
14 A. Yes, I was -- as I said, I was working directly to Dodi,
15 but obviously as the Princess was with us, she was under
16 our umbrella of protection.
17 Q. Before leaving Sardinia, did you or, to your knowledge,
18 did anyone else contact the French authorities to say
19 that you would all be arriving in Paris later that day?
20 A. I didn't personally, but I can't obviously comment on
21 what other people did.
22 Q. Did you personally see any need for that to happen?
23 A. No, sir.
24 Q. Was your understanding that it was what might be
25 described as a private and impromptu visit for one

67

1 night?
2 A. Absolutely, sir, yes.
3 Q. Similarly, so far as you are aware, did you or anyone
4 else tell the British authorities that the couple were
5 going to Paris?
6 A. I didn't personally, sir, and I don't know what London
7 did.
8 Q. Would we be right in thinking that during the course of
9 the cruise on the Jonikal, the local authorities in the
10 various ports you were going to weren't notified of who
11 was on board or who was coming?
12 A. No, sir. No official authorities were notified during
13 that trip.
14 Q. Although it may well have become pretty obvious given
15 that the passage of the Jonikal was well traversed in
16 the press?
17 A. Probably.
18 Q. Now, at the airport -- and again we have heard quite
19 a lot of evidence about this already so we can take this
20 fairly quickly -- you were met by Philippe Dourneau, who
21 was Dodi's French driver.
22 A. Yes, sir.
23 Q. Had you met him before?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. So you knew him?

68

1 A. Yes.
2 Q. You were also met by Henri Paul. Had you met him in the
3 past?
4 A. Yes, I had, sir.
5 Q. So you knew him?
6 A. I knew who he was.
7 Q. You travelled from the airport in the car driven by
8 Philippe Dourneau with Dodi and the Princess?
9 A. That's correct.
10 Q. Were there lots of paparazzi that you noticed at the
11 airport?
12 A. I can't give exact numbers, but there was a fair few
13 waiting for us when we landed.
14 Q. Did Henri Paul follow in another vehicle with the rest
15 of the party and the luggage?
16 A. Yes, sir. He drove a back-up Range Rover.
17 Q. You say in your statement -- and we have heard this from
18 others -- that there were some police at the airport who
19 escorted you off the airport itself but they didn't stay
20 with you thereafter.
21 A. No, they peeled off at the edge of the airport grounds.
22 Q. Then the vehicle you were in travelled to the
23 Villa Windsor?
24 A. That's correct.
25 Q. Was there anything that you can remember of note at all

69

1 about the drive from the airport to Villa Windsor?
2 A. No, sir.
3 Q. By the time you had reached the Villa Windsor, had you
4 lost the press for that reason or another?
5 A. I wouldn't use that terminology. They were no longer
6 with us when we arrived at the Villa Windsor.
7 Q. Where were you sitting in that car?
8 A. I was in the front passenger seat.
9 Q. When did you learn that you were going to the
10 Villa Windsor? Was that before you got to the airport
11 or en route?
12 A. I don't remember specifically, but I believe it would
13 have been at the start of that journey, as we left the
14 airport.
15 Q. Had you been told in any detail what the plans of Dodi
16 and the Princess were for the rest of the day and over
17 to the following day?
18 A. No, sir.
19 Q. But you assumed at some stage that they would be likely
20 to go to the Ritz; is that right?
21 A. I assumed that they would go to the Ritz, I assumed they
22 would be staying at Dodi's apartment and I assumed they
23 would have visited the Villa Windsor.
24 Q. You did visit the Villa Windsor and the stay there was
25 a relatively short one?

70

1 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. Is there anything of note or remarkable that you
3 remember about the time at the Villa Windsor?
4 A. Not that I remember, no.
5 Q. When you saw Henri Paul at the airport, was there
6 anything odd or remarkable about him?
7 A. Nothing at all, sir, no.
8 Q. Now, having left the Villa Windsor, we know in due
9 course that you went to the Ritz --
10 A. That's correct.
11 Q. -- in the afternoon --
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. -- and went in through the Rue Cambon entrance.
14 A. That's correct.
15 Q. Was there any trouble fr