The following is no real surprise, in fact it's almost predictable, but it all adds weight to the argument that senior members of the British Establishment are involved in an ongoing cover-up regarding the real truth about Princess Diana's death. Rixon
From the London Sunday Telegraph, Sunday April 1st, 2001.
THE coroner who is due to hold the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales is campaigning for a change in the law so that the inquiry never takes place.
Dr John Burton, the coroner for the Royal Household, believes that any inquest into the Princess's death, and that of her companion, Dodi Fayed, would be costly and pointless. He told The Telegraph that he has been lobbying Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, for a change in the law that requires an inquest in every case where a body is returned to Britain after a death abroad.
Dr Burton said an inquest into the Princess's death would be "a waste of everyone's time and money". He added: "Nobody can be forced to give evidence as a witness and it would serve no purpose. The aim of an inquest is to identify the cause of death but in this case all the evidence was collected in France and any inquest would just be a forum for different people's views."
He refused to disclose the contents of private correspondence with Mr Straw but said he had received a letter from the Home Office as recently as last Friday.
The inquest into the Princess's death has been delayed by legal action in France and Britain by Mohamed Fayed, the father of Dodi, who died with the Princess and Henri Paul, their driver, in a Paris car crash in August 1997. Mr Fayed is adamant that the Princess and his son were murdered as part of an MI6 plot.
If the law is changed and there are no inquests into the Princess and Dodi Fayed's deaths, Mr Fayed would be incensed and the Royal Family relieved. Mr Fayed has tried to have the inquests held jointly, a wish opposed by both coroners.
Last year a High Court ruled that joint or concurrent inquests would create "considerable controversy" because of the conflicting views of the families.
Dr Burton, 71, the former secretary to the 320-member Coroners' Society, has some powerful allies for a change in the law, including Michael Burgess who, as coroner for Surrey, is due to hold the inquest into the death of Dodi Fayed.
Neither Dr Burton nor Mr Burgess will hold their inquests until Mr Fayed has completed his legal action, expected to take at least two more years. He has challenged rulings in France, where a two-year inquiry concluded that the crash was an accident caused by "loss of control, speed and alcohol".
