A preliminary police report on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, Mr Dodi Fayed and their driver has concluded that the pursuing photographers did not directly cause the crash, sources close to the investigation said yesterday. A police source also confirmed that neither the princess, Mr Fayed nor the driver, Mr Henri Paul, was wearing a seatbelt.
The report, which has been passed to the investigating magistrate supervising the inquiry, states that "there is no evidence to show that the photographers were directly implicated in the vehicle's loss of control", said one source, quoting from the report.
"In essence, the report says that the police believe the alcohol tests on the driver were accurate, that the speed of the car was excessive, and that the driver lost all control of the vehicle when it entered the tunnel," the source said.
"The police have not found anything to indicate that the photographers were any closer than 100-150 metres from the car at the moment of impact."
Several reports have claimed that a group of up to a dozen photographers driving motorbikes, scooters and cars, pursued the Mercedes S280 at high speed into the tunnel.
One witness, whose account police are not believed to consider reliable, said he saw a motorbike carrying two people swerve in front of the Mercedes only seconds before the accident.
Last week, one of the investigating magistrates supervising the inquiry, Mr Herve Stephan, ordered police to question nine photographers and one picture agency motorbike driver. They were detained for 48 hours and remain under formal investigation for manslaughter and failing to assist people in danger.
In the light of the evidence they have, police are believed to be surprised that the investigating magistrates have launched a manslaughter inquiry.
The photographers have consistently claimed that they arrived at the Pont d'Alma underpass at least three or four minutes after the crash occurred.
"The police are quite astonished at the turn this investigation has taken," the source said. "Feelings at the Quai des Orfevres [police headquarters] are running quite high on this. On the evidence the police have at this stage, there is very little with which the photographers could be charged."
Another source said: "You could not even accuse them of failing to assist the victims, since the emergency services arrived so fast that the photographers would have been in danger of obstructing the rescue."
The managing director of the Sipa photographic agency, Mr Gok sin Sipahioglu, one of whose photographers was among those detained, said he was "very happy" at the conclusions the police appeared to have reached.
Mr Henri Paul, the Ritz Hotel's deputy security chief, who was driving the car, was found to have more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream at the time of the accident. New tests are being carried out after doubts about the reliability of the initial findings. First reports suggested that the car was travelling at up to 121 m.p.h.
Mr Jean-Marc Coblence, the lawyer for three of the photographers, said he would take action to clear their names. "I shall be applying to have their names removed from the inquiry and I do not rule out filing for compensation," he said.
Police are still believed to be searching for the driver of a dark vehicle which was reportedly travelling in front of the Mercedes just before the accident. "It is quite possible that the car just happened to be there and was observing the speed limit," one source said.
The police examination of the wrecked Mercedes may take several more days but a crash reconstruction is expected soon.