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Diana's butler asked to return to inquest

The judge at the inquest into Princess Diana's death on Friday asked her former butler to return to court to explain discrepancies between his testimony and comments attributed to him in a tabloid newspaper.

Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell poses for photographers at the High Court in London January 14, 2008. The judge at the inquest into Princess Diana's death on Friday asked Burrell to return to court to explain discrepancies between his testimony and comments attributed to him in a tabloid newspaper. (REUTERS/Kieran Doherty/Files)

Paul Burrell faced a three-day grilling from lawyers last month when he flew in from Los Angeles to give evidence at the inquest into the deaths of Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed in a 1997 Paris car crash.

Dodi's father,luxury department store Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed, alleges the couple were killed by British security forces on the orders of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband and Diana's former father-in-law.

On the day that al-Fayed peppered his testimony to the inquest with a string of allegations covering a whole host of British establishment figures, The Sun published details of an interview with Burrell.

In a video recording obtained by the tabloid, he appeared to say he had held back certain facts and introduced "red herrings" during his evidence to the inquest.

An inquest spokesman 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."

At an emotionally charged appearance at the inquest, Burrell was repeatedly asked by lawyer Michael Mansfield, representing Dodi's father, exactly how much he knew about the secrets he was supposed to have held for Diana.

"If I put it politely, you are all over the place," Mansfield told the butler known as "Diana's Rock" after running through conflicting evidence he gave to the court.

Burrell, confessing to confusion as he tried to recall a lifetime of memories, said of his legal grilling: "Quite frankly, it's been horrid. It's been quite disgraceful actually. ... I didn't expect it to go to such depths."

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