Queen's offices 'swept for bugs'
The Queen's rooms were regularly checked for bugging devices, the
inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed has heard.
But Lord Fellowes - who was the Queen's private secretary during the
1990s - insisted that the checks were only made to provide "reassurance".
And he denied he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill the princess.
Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Dodi Al Fayed, has claimed Lord Fellowes
was involved in the alleged MI6 plot.
But the peer - who is Diana's brother-in-law - told the inquest that
he could not have been part of any attempt to murder her because at a
crucial time he was listening to a talk by Rumpole of the Bailey
creator, John Mortimer.
'Constant preoccupation'
It was being suggested that you were intimately concerned in the
murder of your sister-in-law
Ian Burnett QC
Diana, Dodi Al Fayed and driver Henri Paul died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
Lord Fellowes had explained how recordings of telephone calls made by
Diana and the Prince of Wales - the so-called "Squidgy-gate" and
"Camilla-gate" tapes - had led to meetings and correspondence between
the heads of MI5 and GCHQ in 1993.
But he added that the then-home secretary had prevented a full
Security Service investigation of the incidents because of concerns
the press would misrepresent such a move.
The peer - who was at the Queen's side for 22 years - was asked by
Ian Burnett QC, counsel to the inquest, whether the threat of
eavesdropping was a concern at the palace.
He replied: "I wouldn't say it was a constant preoccupation but yes,
we needed reassurance at regular intervals that there was no bugging
going on."
Lord Fellowes added that sweeps of the Queen's rooms had been carried
out by the security services.
Mohamed Al Fayed - the owner of Harrods - has alleged Lord Fellowes
helped to co-ordinate a murder plot by ordering a section of the
British embassy in Paris to send messages to GCHQ shortly before the crash.
He has said Diana "feared" Lord Fellowes, who is married to her
sister, Lady Jane Fellowes.
Mr Burnett told the peer: "It had been suggested, particularly in a
letter from Mr Al Fayed, that it was said that you had been present
in the British Embassy at 11 o'clock on the evening of 30 August
1997, commandeering the communications centre to send messages to GCHQ.
"In other words it was being suggested that you were intimately
concerned in the murder of your sister-in-law."
Asked if he had been in Paris that night, Lord Fellowes answered: "No."
He added: "We were in Norfolk that evening, we had people to stay, we
went to an entertainment by Mr John Mortimer in Burnham Market church."
The court has already heard that Diana had feared she had been under
surveillance and had had her apartments at Kensington Palace swept
for bugs by specialists.
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:19 CST