Published Date:
16 April 2008
By Tony Jones
THE cost of investigating the death of Princess Diana has jumped to more than £12.5 million, it was confirmed yesterday.
Figures show the bill for the long-running Diana inquest now stands at £4.5 million, with the cost of the hearing's last few days yet to be included.
After the hearing ended last week, the Metropolitan Police said it had spent £8 million on services arising from the inquest and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004-6.
The inquest into the deaths of Diana and her lover, Dodi Fayed, who were fatally injured in a Paris car crash in 1997, lasted more than 90 days and heard evidence from about 250 witnesses. The jury returned a verdict that the couple had been unlawfully killed.
The figures revealed that taxpayers shelled out £1.85 million for "external legal services", or lawyers' fees, between 1 July last year and 31 March.
Running costs were £768,000, video-conferencing and special visits totalled £703,000, the bill for IT was £677,000 and staffing cost £234,000.
In one case, funds were used to fly an official to Los Angeles to collect a tape of a telephone conversation involving Mr Fayed and a former girlfriend, Kelly Fisher.
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Last Updated:
15 April 2008 9:32 PM
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Source:
The Scotsman
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Location:
Edinburgh
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Related Topics:
Princess of Wales
