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Burrell recalled to Diana inquest
| Former royal butler Paul Burrell has been asked to return to the Diana, Princess of Wales inquest. He will be asked to explain discrepancies between his inquest evidence and comments attributed to him in the Sun newspaper. In a video recording obtained by the Sun, Mr Burrell apparently claims he introduced "red herrings" during his evidence and held back facts. Lawyers acting on behalf of Mr Burrell say he did not conceal evidence. A spokesman for the inquest said: "The coroner has asked Mr Burrell to return to court to explain discrepancies between the evidence he gave to the inquest and the material which is contained in the transcripts of the recording taken by the Sun newspaper." A statement from Mr Burrell's lawyers says he did not "conceal" anything relevant or tell "untruths" during his evidence. The tabloid story was the "result of entrapment" and the interview the allegations were based on was an "insidious" form of questioning, it says. Joshua Rozenburg, the Daily Telegraph's legal affairs editor, told the BBC that the request was at the moment "informal". But, he said, should Mr Burrell - who is currently in the US - choose not to respond, the coroner would have to consider whether to issue a witness summons. "That can't be enforced in the United States but on the other hand if he ignored it he might be in difficulty if and when he returns to Britain." If the allegations in the Sun were correct and he returned to the UK "he could be accused of perjury if he didn't tell the whole truth, which is what he swore to do," Mr Rozenburg added. 'Horrid' ordeal At the time of his three-day appearance at the inquest in January, Mr Burrell described the ordeal as "horrid". Jurors heard of the "extremely serious relationship" between the princess and heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, which had lasted for two years, ending July 1997. The former butler admitted Diana's relationship with her mother broke down after Mrs Shand Kydd, who died in 2004, accused her of "messing around" with Muslim men. He revealed that Mrs Shand Kydd had called the princess a "whore". Mr Burrell also said it was "impossible" Diana was murdered on the orders of the Royal Family, saying the princess and Prince Charles had been on cordial terms at the end of her life. In 2002 Mr Burrell, who worked for the Royal Family for more than 20 years, was cleared of stealing Diana's possessions after an Old Bailey trial collapsed. |
