By IRNA
London : Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) has welcomed the calling of former MI6 spy chief Sir Richard Dearlove to give evidence in the delayed inquest into the 1997 death of Diana, the divorced wife of UK heir, Prince Charles.
His attendance will be an “opportunity for Sir Richard to refute the “allegations of SIS involvement in the accident,” the intelligence service said in a statement issued through the British Foreign Office.
Dearlove was director of SIS operations at the time of the crash in Paris, which also killed Dodi al-Fayed, the son of an Egyptian businessman. He is due to give evidence at the inquest on February 20.
Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed, has claimed his son and Diana were the victims of a conspiracy by the British establishment and the involvement of MI6, whose officers were present in the French capital on the day of the car crash.
Two years after the crash, Dearlove was promoted to Chief of the SIS until his retirement in 1999. He also took responsibility for Britain’s discredited Iraq arms dossier, that was used to justify the 2003 invasion.
At the inquest on Monday, it was claimed that the sole survivor of the crash in which Diana was fatally wounded feared that he would be murdered if he ever regained his memory.
Karen McKenzie, al Fayed’s housekeeper, said that Trevor Rees, who was acting as a bodyguard, confided in her when he was recovering from his injuries.
Rees has continued to insist he has no memory of the crash and previously told the inquest that he did not make any such remark to McKenzie.
It was also revealed by the coroner, that the inquest, which did not start until last October, had so far cost British taxpayers just over Pnds 2.4 million (Dlrs 4.8 m).