Word: butler
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...Diana and his son were murdered by British security services on the orders of Diana's former father-in-law, Prince Philip, was hoping he would finally get the chance to defend his claims to a jury of "ordinary people." At a preliminary hearing on Monday, however, Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, who will lead the inquests into the couple's deaths, said that the proceedings won't look at the murder allegations unless Al Fayed can come up with some evidence...
...hearing in London, which will decide on the scope of the inquests and who can be called as witnesses, Butler-Sloss said Al Fayed had not provided "a shred of evidence" to support his conspiracy theory. "There are a large number of serious allegations being made," she said. "If there is no evidence to support them, I shall not present them to the jury because it would be my duty not to do so." But Al Fayed's lawyer, Michael Mansfield, said the millionaire had already given his evidence to the official British police investigation, which last year concluded...
...changing the law to stop paparazzi from harassing celebrities in the future. They also said that the "immense public interest" in the case worldwide called for transparency and made a jury necessary. And they referred to Al Fayed's claims that the crash was no accident, saying that if Butler-Sloss decides the inquests should look into the allegations, "the possible role of state agents" was another reason that a jury should hear the case. (The jury would not rule on who is to blame for Diana and Dodi's deaths, but they could rule on whether...
...January, Butler-Sloss, who was one of Britain's top judges before she retired, decided to preside over the case alone because she thought that the volume and detail of the evidence would be too much for a jury to handle. She said that only a coroner could give the "careful and fully reasoned decision" that the inquests required. Her ruling seemed to go against the wishes of Princes William and Harry, who a week earlier had sent a letter to Butler-Sloss asking that the inquest "not only be open, fair and transparent, but that it should move swiftly...
...Fayed's challenge to Butler-Sloss' decision also took issue with the fact that she was presiding over the inquest as royal deputy coroner, which gave the perception that she "lacked [the] independence" needed to remain impartial in judging whether or not the Princess and Dodi Fayed were murdered. The High Court judges agreed, ruling that if Butler-Sloss is still going to hear the case, she can't do it as the royal coroner...