Fayed reveals plot with cast of thousands

Without offering any substantive evidence, the Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed outlined on Monday an astonishingly complex plot by the British and French establishments to murder his son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales. Speaking at the London inquest into their deaths in 1997, Fayed said he would "make no allegations" - and then proceeded to incriminate almost everyone but the Queen, whom he deemed an unimportant figure.

In contrast, Fayed branded the Duke of Edinburgh a "Nazi" and a "racist" for his part in the plot to kill the couple because - he claimed - Diana was pregnant with Dodi's child and was about to become engaged to his son. He believed the establishment could not accept an Egyptian Muslim as a stepfather to the future King of England. "Princess Diana also told me personally before and during the holiday we shared in July 1997 of her fears. She told me that she knew Prince Philip and Prince Charles were trying to get rid of her," he told the court.

"It's time to send [Philip] back to Germany from where he comes," he said. "You want to know his original name - it ends with Frankenstein." Prince Charles, Fayed continued, took part in the scheme in the hope that he would then be able to marry Camilla Parker Bowles.

Their accomplices in the conspiracy apparently included the rest of the Royal Family, Tony Blair, Robin Cook, British and French intelligence services, the Princess's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the British Ambassador in Paris, the French police and medical services - even the ambulance that took the Princess to hospital, which had MI6 agents on board.

Fayed attended the inquest at Royal Courts of Justice with his QC, Michael Mansfield, and his PR man Michael Cole - who originally dismissed pregnancy claims and later reaffirmed them. Fayed offered as evidence of Diana's pregnancy a phone call he claims to have had with Dodi and Diana an hour before the Paris crash in which he learnt that she was pregnant and they were planning to announce their engagement two days later.

Acting for the Metropolitan Police, Richard Horwell QC asked Fayed: "Why have you not sued all these people for killing your son? Is the answer that there is absolutely no evidence?" Fayed wagged a finger and said, "I am trying to get the evidence. And don't bully me."