Expert doubts claim over blood sample

London: A British expert told an inquest into the death of Princess Diana on Thursday that he doubts that a sample of blood showing a high level of alcohol actually came from the driver of her car.

Mohammad Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana in the crash on August 31, 1997, has alleged that the blood tests were faked to pin the blame on driver Henri Paul, who also died.

Al Fayed contends that the couple were the targets of a murder plot headed by Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, and carried out by British agents. Professor Atholl Johnston, a clinical pharmacologist, said he was suspicious of the consistency of the results reported by French investigators and the high level of carboxyhaemoglobin in Paul's blood, indicating an exposure to carbon monoxide.

French investigators reported that Paul was three times over the legal limit for driving in France. They reported alcohol concentration readings of 1.74 grams and 1.75 grams per litre from two samples of blood, and 1.73 grams per litre from a sample of vitreous humour from the eye.

Johnston, who was hired by Al Fayed to review the French tests, estimated the likelihood of getting such close agreement among three separate samples at one in 10,000.