The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fund is paying huge legal bills and has not yet given any money to charity.

Not surprisingly, many people want to know why.

Trustees of the fund say that the payments to London solicitors Mishcon de Reya are start-up costs and the row amounts to a "storm in a teacup."

Vivienne Parry: The Fund needs "the best legal advice"

A Fund spokesperson told BBC News Online that the Board of Trustees is planning to have a meeting in March where they will decide which charities will receive monies from the £35m fund.

Start-up costs

Trustee, Vivienne Parry, insisted that every penny paid out to the lawyers was money well spent. She insisted that the lawyer's work would lead to millions of pounds flooding back into the Fund's coffers to pay for charitable projects.

"Of course we will keep an eye on the fees, but we can't do something as big and complex as the Memorial Fund without the best legal advice."

Up to 20 partners and lawyers have worked on Fund business according to The Mirror newspaper.

They are responsible for tasks including: establishing Diana's name and image as an official trademark; seeking 30% royalties from all items bearing her likeness; acting to stop the sale of unlicensed goods; attempting to block an unofficial film telling the story of Diana's affair with Dodi Fayed.

There is no fixed fee for work of this kind and charges. But a spokesman for the Institutional Fund Managers' Association added that a fund of that size would normally pay a maximum each year of .25% to .5% of its holdings - in this case about £87,5000 to £175,000 - for management services.

The solicitors of Mishcon de Reya say they are doing the work at cost - their own contribution to the Diana Memorial Fund. Their fees are £250 per hour.

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