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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Diana inquest jury being selected | Diana inquest jury being selected |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The process of selecting a jury for the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales is under way. | |
| Up to 200 potential jurors were summoned to the Royal Courts of Justice in London, ahead of the start of the hearing on Tuesday. | |
| Candidates have been asked questions by the coroner to determine whether they have any prejudices or connections that could rule them out of the case. | |
| Diana and Dodi Al Fayed died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. | Diana and Dodi Al Fayed died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. |
| Millions of words have been spoken and written Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker | |
| At the High Court, coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker told the group of potential jurors that the deaths of Diana and Dodi more than 10 years ago had "created worldwide interest on an unprecedented scale". | |
| He said candidates had not been given advance notice of their involvement because of this interest and that the inquest would not be "any ordinary case". | |
| "Millions of words have been spoken and written. There are numerous books, television programmes, articles that have been published, some by those who are closely involved in surrounding events and some not," the coroner said. | |
| But jurors would be required to come to a decision based only on court evidence, he said. | |
| "If there are any articles in the newspapers do not read them and if there are any television programmes about the death of Diana or any news items about these inquests you should not look at them," he told the candidates. | |
| Business connections | |
| Potential jurors were handed a list of 10 questions ordering them to reveal any connections to the Royal Family, Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, or the security services. | |
| The candidates, who were randomly selected from the electoral roll of the catchment area of inner west London coroner's court, were also asked to declare whether they had "any business or enterprise" connected to Mr Al Fayed. | |
| This included his London Harrods store and Fulham Football Club - where he is chairman. | |
| The court has also ordered candidates to reveal any connection to MI5, MI6, government listening post GCHQ, the Metropolitan Police or any of the witnesses involved in the case. | |
| The final panel of between seven and 11 jurors will be picked from a shortlist before being sworn in front of the coroner. | |
| Paris visit | Paris visit |
| The inquest, which will sit each Monday to Thursday, could last up to six months. | The inquest, which will sit each Monday to Thursday, could last up to six months. |
| The jury will visit Paris in the second week of the inquest, at which point they will retrace Diana's final journey. | The jury will visit Paris in the second week of the inquest, at which point they will retrace Diana's final journey. |
| Inquests must be held into deaths abroad, if they are deemed not to have occurred due to natural causes. | Inquests must be held into deaths abroad, if they are deemed not to have occurred due to natural causes. |
| The four main aims of any inquest are to establish who the victim was, when, where and how the person died. | The four main aims of any inquest are to establish who the victim was, when, where and how the person died. |