He had split from his first wife months before the crash. The couple had daughter Nia in Mr Rees later set up shop working as a security consultant. In he worked with the United Nations in East Timor and later, in , was working in war-torn Iraq where he helped protect foreign workers. In , Diana's former bodyguard Ken Wharfe claimed his security team would never have let the royal get in the Mercedes that night and laid fault for her death with the bodyguards.
Our department had the care of her personal safety for some 15 years: Fayed's crew were in charge of her security for just eight weeks before she died," Mr Wharfe wrote in the Daily Mail When he was first appointed by the Fayed family to guard Diana in France, Scotland Yard could have informally provided Rees-Jones with a briefing.
He appeared to think in terms of his army days, describing the press as 'the enemy' and referring to photographers as if they were 'snipers' with their long lenses like rifle barrels. In , a British inquest was finally held into the death of Diana, and Mr Rees shared what he could recall of the terrible night, saying: "I have a memory of stopping at traffic lights and seeing a motorcycle on the right hand side of the car.
I'm not sure about the other vehicles, but I can remember this motorcycle very clearly. I don't remember the pain but in my head there was a lot of confusion. On the other hand, if there was no-one else there apart from us, I conclude that it was Princess Diana as it was a female voice.
However, he then cast slight doubt over his own recollections, saying: "These memories are vague and I myself doubt them, but I'm mentioning them as these memories are coming back to me repeatedly. He also denied Mr Al-Fayed's claims that Dodi was about to propose to Diana and also refuted the allegations that the crash was the work of MI6 agents, saying: "I am not part of a conspiracy to suppress the truth at all.
All I have ever done is give the truth as I see it. Another key witness at the inquest was Mr Wingfield, the other bodyguard there that night. He testified he and Rees had both been travelling with Dodi and Diana for more than a week and knew they were being hounded by the paparazzi.
He said they had asked Mohammed Al-Fayed for more guards to help deal with the situation. He also claimed Dodi would not tell his security team about his plans.
Mr Wingfield said he and Mr Rees had struggled during Dodi and Diana's cruise, working hour shifts to try and protect the duo. Hard evidence from a Ritz bar bill show he had two Ricards - a French aniseed spirit - while waiting to for Diana and Dodi to leave the hotel.
An inquest into Diana's death in - which found paparazzi photographers and Henri Paul were to blame for her 'unlawful killing' - heard testimonies from bar staff working at the Ritz on the fateful night. Alain Willaumez said Paul was "drunk" and had been "walking like a clown" hours before the crash. He said: "I could see first through his eyes and also the way he talked, but more especially in his eyes. However, security footage first revealed at the inquest do show him appearing to wave at photographers moments before Diana and Dodi left the hotel.
The court was told Paul had goaded waiting photographers, saying: "You won't be able to catch up. The Mercedes did not take the direct route to Dodi Al Fayed's apartment and four minutes after leaving the Ritz entered the Alma tunnel travelling at around double the 30mph speed limit. After 22 hours of deliberations over four days, an inquest jury ruled Diana had been unlawfully killed as a result of Paul's drinking driving and chasing photographers.
The forewoman read: "The crash was caused or contributed to by the speed and manner of the driving of the Mercedes, the speed and manner of driving of the following vehicles, the impairment of the judgment of the driver of the Mercedes through alcohol, and there are nine of us who agree on those conclusions. Scotland Yard's Operation Paget inquiry investigated criminal allegations of a conspiracy conducted on British soil to kill Diana and Dodi. He was though clearly "under the influence" of alcohol and unfit to drive.
An unexplained prescription only drug called albendazole or Zentel used to treat worm infestations was also found in hair samples from Paul; this drug is said to be commonly given to homeless people living on the streets. Paul's doctor denies prescribing this drug to Paul. In previously publicly unknown CCTV footage, which was shown to the British inquest jury on 4 October , Henri Paul is seen on the night of the accident waving to photographers.
Inspector Paul Carpenter who was giving evidence confirmed to the court that Paul had waved at the photographers within minutes of the couple's departure. He said that one of the photographers, sitting in his car close to where the couple would later exit the hotel, was in contact with other paparazzi.
Inspector Carpenter earlier explained to the jury: "You will see Henri Paul exit into Rue Cambon [at the back of the hotel] and when you watch this sequence you will see him raise his hand as if waving to the paparazzi across the road.
If you look at the paparazzi across the road you will see one of them raises his camera. Jacques Langevin. Allegations have been made about Paul in the years following his death concerning his supposed involvement with the French Security Services, and possibly with those in the UK. The claims were investigated by the Metropolitan Police in Operation Paget headed by John Stevens over the course of three years.
Chapter four of the investigative report is entirely given to the allegations about Henri Paul. The conclusions of the Operation Paget investigation were that Paul's involvement with the Security Services was limited to low level co-operation with the French DST when high-profile guests stayed at the Ritz Hotel and he received no payment for this in line with French Government policy.
It further noted such involvement with national security services is common among senior security staff at upmarket hotels in major world cities. It was found after Paul's death that he was in possession of a large sum of money on his person and had a large personal fortune that far surpassed his expected income held in fifteen separate bank accounts.
It was alleged this could only have been as a result of payment from an illicit source, supposedly a national security service. A large quantity of cash would be needed to be on hand to perform errands at short notice as wealthy people are known to often not carry cash. Paul also received large tips for performing these errands.
Such four-figure tips were not a rare occurrence for him during his eleven years at the Paris Ritz. Operation Paget concluded that the cash and the money in his bank accounts were unlikely to have come from any national security service as there was no evidence in his bank accounts of any attempt to disguise any money coming from a clandestine source and there was no opportunity for him to begin to implement any plan he might have been instructed to undertake in return for payment on the night of the accident.
The large number of bank accounts he had his money deposited in is not uncommon in France, where banks will routinely open several accounts for different purposes, all to serve one customer. Biography Lists News Also Viewed.
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