Seven potential key witnesses to the death of DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES, have refused to give evidence to the inquest into the British royal's death. The group - all members of the paparazzi - were all present in the Alma tunnel in Paris, France on the fatal night of 31 August (97), when the Mercedes car carrying Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed crashed, killing them both. But the snappers are not willing to testify to the inquest's jury at London's High Court, despite being among the first people to arrive at the scene of the accident. On Tuesday (30Oct07), the court heard how one photographer attempted to sell pictures of the dying Princess to a British tabloid for $600,000 (GBP300,000). French snapper Romuald Rat boasted about how the photos showed Diana with blood on her face in her final moments - but the graphic nature of the images resulted in the newspaper turning down the shots, out of respect for the late royal. The jury was also told how Rat's driver, Stephan Darmon, enjoyed the thrill of chasing the Princess through Paris, branding the experience "entertaining". The inquest aims to establish whether the couple were simply the victims of a tragic accident, or if they were the targets of an assassination plot headed by the British royal family - as claimed by Fayed's father, tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed. The case continues.
