Fayed promises new clues on Diana death

Al Fayed: Vows to expose plot to kill his son and Diana

LONDON -- The quest of Mohamed Al Fayed to prove that the death of Princess Diana and his son Dodi was the result of a deliberate plot has taken a new twist after lawyers for the multi-millionaire said he would unveil incriminating new evidence next week.

A statement issued by the Harrod's owner said the new revelations, including "little-known video tape of the last minutes of Diana's life," would be made at a news conference in Washington DC on Wednesday -- the eve of the third anniversary of the tragedy.

"Mr Al Fayed's lawyers will discuss the event that shocked the world," the statement said.

It also pledged to unveil "details about a $20 million fraud effort" by a Los Angeles attorney and former agents of the Central Intelligence Agency to sell Fayed classified documents that allegedly show there was a plot to have the princess murdered.

Fayed's office said it would produce audio tape evidence of the alleged fraud effort that had never been heard before.

Diana, Princess of Wales, Dodi and the couple's driver Henri Paul were killed following a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

Diana had become close to Dodi after the breakdown of her marriage to Britain's heir to the throne, Prince Charles.

Lengthy French investigations into the crash, in which Diana and Dodi's Mercedes limousine hit a pillar in a Paris underpass, concluded that the driver was drunk and solely responsible for the tragic accident.

In April a U.S. appeals court rejected a bid by Fayed to obtain secret government documents compiled by the National Security Agency about Diana, Fayed's son Dodi and about the alleged plot to sell the CIA documents.

Public support rises

But Fayed has repeatedly accused the British establishment of instituting a vast cover-up to hide what he alleges is their involvement in an anti-Muslim plot to have Diana and Dodi killed.

Diana: New details promised about her final moments

The Egyptian-born boss of the luxury Harrods store in London has vowed never to rest in his fight to expose the alleged plot, which he has said runs through the British Government, the royal family and involved security agencies in Britain and the United States.

The U.S. National Security Agency disclosed to a news agency seeking information in 1998 that there were 182 separate documents on Princess Diana in its files, including 39 that were classified and thus could not be released.

The remainder were produced by other federal agencies.

Meanwhile, an opinion poll published on Friday revealed that despite Fayed's allegations, public support for the Royal Family has jumped during the past five years.

The MORI poll found satisfaction with the monarchy rose from 41 percent in 1995 to 51 percent today.

The poll was carried out last weekend in the wake of celebrations for the Queen Mother's 100th birthday and revealed the percentage of people "very satisfied" with the monarchy had risen by six points to 13 percent.

Those "fairly satisfied" with the way the Royal Family performs its constitutional role rose four points to 38 per cent.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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British Monarchy: Princess Diana of Wales
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Mohamed Al Fayed

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