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Diana: Fayed vows to fight on

His comments, through his lawyer, come as the investigating magistrates are about to announce their findings.

It is widely expected that they will recommend all charges against the paparazzi who were chasing the car should be dropped.

But Mr al-Fayed's lawyer in Paris, Georges Kiejman, said his client would not give up the fight, and would take the case to a court of appeal and then the French Supreme Court.

While Harrods owner Mr al-Fayed accepted that the car's driver, Henri Paul, had been drinking, he still believed that the chasing press pack was responsible for the car crashing, said Mr Kiejman.

The final report into the accident is expected to be published within the next few days.

The state prosecutor has advised that charges of manslaughter should be dismissed against the nine photographers and a press motorcyclist who were implicated in the crash.

Investigating judge Herve Stephan is not obliged to follow the recommendations, but it seems likely that the report will clear the media pack.

The charges had followed speculation that the pursuing paparazzi had forced Mr Paul, the Paris Ritz's deputy security chief, to drive too fast and had contributed to the accident in the underpass.

But early on in the inquiry it became clear that, although the photographers had followed the couple from the Ritz, their motorbikes had been left well behind by the time Mr Paul steered the car through a sweeping bend and into the tunnel where it crashed.

It is still possible that some of the photographers could be charged with failing to help at the scene of an accident.

Fear of censorship

But the crash will have an impact on the French media.

Observers say it has been the impetus behind imminent French legislation that would ban publication of photos that could "harm a person's reputation".

French magazines and photographers believe that the law, which is intended to increase privacy protection for public figures, could also result in the censoring of important news events.

"The freedom to print photographs is being severely challenged, and the fall-out from the Diana crash is largely to blame," said the deputy editor of Paris Match, Olivier Royant.

"We will be living with the legacy for a long time to come."

Relevant Stories

Crowds gather in Diana's memory (31 Aug 99 | UK)
Diana crash charges 'dropped' (16 Aug 99 | UK)
Profile: Mohamed al-Fayed (06 May 99 | UK)

Internet Links

Monarchy Website: Diana, Princess of Wales
BBC - Diana One Year On
Diana Memorial Fund

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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