'No evidence' Diana was murdered

The Diana, Princess of Wales inquest coroner has ruled out the possibility of a finding she was murdered saying there is "not a shred of evidence".

Lord Justice Scott Baker also branded butler Paul Burrell a "liar" as he launched a withering summary of the evidence in the six-month, multi-million pound case.

Laying out five options for the verdicts expected later this week, he ruled that a staged accident orchestrated by the Duke of Edinburgh could not be one of them.

Describing Mohamed al Fayed's theories as "worthless" without evidence to back them up, he urged the jury not to be swayed by sympathy.

And he revealed that even the Harrods tycoon's own legal team had abandoned many of their client's claims because they were "so demonstrably without foundation".

Diana, her lover Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul were killed when their Mercedes hit the 13th pillar of the Alma Underpass in Paris on August 31, 1997.

Paparazzi were in pursuit but Dodi's father Mr al Fayed has spent 10-and-a-half years vocally accusing the Duke of Edinburgh and MI6 of murdering them.

He claims the Establishment wanted Diana dead to prevent her marrying Dodi, claiming they were about to get engaged and that she was pregnant.

But the coroner revealed that after hearing around 250 witnesses the most the Fayed legal team was putting forward was that the Duke had helped create a "climate of hostility" toward the Princess.

The five possible verdicts are unlawful killing by grossly negligent driving by the paparazzi, unlawful killing through the gross negligence of Henri Paul, unlawful killing through grossly negligent driving of both the paparazzi and Mr Paul, accidental death and an open verdict.