Deliberate On This

“DIANA DEATH ‘WAS NO AN ACCIDENT.’”

This is favourite device of the tabloid press – the partial quote as headline.

And the quote is attributed to a “source close to the investigation”. And the insider has more to say. “It appears reports have been falsified,” says this source. “There have been many lies and much cheating in this inquiry.”

They go on: “How is it possible for anyone to believe it was a simple road traffic accident?” Well, there was the mangled car, the road and… “This was not an accident.”

So that’s that then. The Express can wrap up its quotidian front-page coverage of Princess Diana (pictured smiling as she awaits the verdict from her new home on the fabled sixth floor of Harvey Nichols). The paper can get on with the business of reporting on immigrants and Hitler.

But no. Diana is a story not yet dead and buried. The Express says the inquiry has been “sensationally” reopened by a French judge. “The two scientific experts could face criminal charges and prison if their new depositions reveal they lied in the past.”

They “could”, “if”… Inside the paper we get to see the two scientists. There’s the toxicologist Dr Gilbert Pepin. He’s wearing a scarf and glasses. And Professor Dominique Lecomte, the pathologist, also in glasses and seen in a grainy image.

And over two pages we read another quote-making headline: “’Experts must tell courts the truth.’”

Yes, experts should not lie in court. And judges should make sound judgement. Lawyers should do their utmost to uphold the law.

And accidents should never happen…

Posted: 21st, August 2006 | In: Royal Family Comment | TrackBack | Permalink