Dying Diana images shown to jury

The princess was captured by photographer Jacques Langevin

Pictures of the Princess of Wales taken by paparazzi as she lay dying have been shown at the inquest into her death.

The images were pixellated, but her hair and the side of her face inside the car could be made out.

Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker ruled the photos, taken after the fatal Paris crash in 1997, would not be released into the public domain.

New pictures of the princess leaving the Ritz Hotel have been released after being shown to the inquest jury.

The jury were also shown police mugshots of 17 paparazzi taken as part of the French investigation into the fatal Paris crash.

Metropolitan Police inspector Paul Carpenter talked the jury through the shots taken by paparazzi in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

Motorbikes

The inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Al Fayed at the High Court in London has also heard about the behaviour of the photographers prior to the incident.

The court was told that photographers stood outside the car taking pictures before anyone opened the door to offer help, and also that the couple's car was being hindered by motorbikes before crashing.

The paparazzi who were present at the scene of the crash had no compunction about taking photographs of the victims Michael Mansfield QC

One witness said the car was followed by two or three bikes while occupants of another car reported "insistent" beeping and braking and a loud crash.

They did not realise who had been involved until the next day.

The court was also shown a series of police mug shots of members of the paparazzi taken as part of the investigation into the crash.

'No compunction'

Close-up shots of the injured princess were taken by numerous paparazzi in the underpass.

One by Laslo Veres appeared to show Diana on the floor of the back seat of the car, with one leg raised.

Langevin also pictured Diana and Dodi Al Fayed in the car

Another captured photographer Romuald Rat squatted down next to the open door of the Mercedes, moments after the crash.

Michael Mansfield QC, lawyer for Mohamed Al Fayed whose son Dodi was killed alongside the princess, said the paparazzi appeared to show little conscience.

Several pictures showed emergency workers carrying an unidentified pixellated slumped figure away from the vehicle.

Mr Mansfield said: "It is perfectly clear from the photographs the jury has been through that the paparazzi who were present at the scene of the crash had no compunction about taking photographs of the victims both inside the car and being carried outside the car."

The majority of the paparazzi images came from negatives seized by the police in the wake of the crash.

Car 'hindered'

The first witness said he was driving along the embankment when he saw a heavy car, doing about 50mph, followed by two to three motorbikes.

I heard several noises, a fairly long burst from a horn, a squealing of tyres and a crash of metal Nathalie Blanchard, witness

He thought there were two people on one of the bikes.

Speaking via a video link from Paris, he stood by a previous statement in which he said the driver was clearly being hindered by the motorbikes.

The jury also heard statements prepared by five occupants of a VW Polo which passed through the Pont de l'Alma underpass shortly before the collision involving Diana's car.

David Laurent described seeing a "light-coloured hatchback", while his girlfriend Nathalie Blanchard recalled seeing a car "something like an Austin Mini or Fiat Uno" as they drove into the tunnel.

'Squeal of tyres'

Mr Laurent told police that he was driving into the tunnel when "all of a sudden, at the entrance to the tunnel, I came upon a car that was driving slowly in the right-hand lane.

"I was taken by surprise but, even so, I had time to pull the steering wheel to the left to avoid it."

The jury visited the scene of the crash in Paris

But as he was leaving the underpass, he heard the sound of hooting for about two seconds, then braking for two to three seconds, followed by a loud crash.

His fiancee told police: "I heard several noises, a fairly long burst from a horn, a squealing of tyres and a crash of metal.

"I turned around, I think I was the only person who did. I couldn't see anything, neither a crashed car nor a small car."

During cross-examination by Richard Keen QC, representing the family of Diana's driver Henri Paul, Mr Carpenter said that at least two of the paparazzi appeared to have driven past the crashed car just seconds after the accident.

Mr Keen said: "It was said by one witness to the French judicial police in regard to the paparazzi: 'They stop at nothing and look for the shot and nothing else'."

The proceedings have been adjourned.