London, Nov 9 : A road accident expert has dismissed suggestions that Princess Diana died as a result of a conspiracy plot, by branding the theory a "non-starter.”

Diana’s boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed’s father, Mohamed al Fayed, has been claiming that the couple died as a result of a plot directed by Prince Philip and carried out by rogue intelligence agents.

However, Scotland Yard senior investigator Anthony Read told the ongoing inquest into her death that there was "little chance" of a plan involving three mystery vehicles, two cars and a motorbike, intentionally causing the accident later.

Read also told the hearing in London that a similar crash in the UK might have been followed up with a complete fingertip search of the scene, with the tunnel closed for several days rather than a few hours.

He also expressed his belief that French investigators did not recover all the debris from the crash scene and that there were "significant" pieces missing.

On Nov 7, Michael Mansfield, an attorney representing al Fayed, offered a hypothetical scenario in which two cars might have deliberately blocked both westbound lanes inside the Pont d’Alma tunnel, where the couple’s car crashed into a concrete pillar on Aug 31, 1997.

Mansfield based his theory on the testimony of three witnesses who said they saw a car in front of the couple’s Mercedes.

London police lawyer Richard Horwell concentrated on the conspiracy theory by questioning Read.

He asked Read to “put to one side for the moment’’ the differences between the accounts of witnesses, including the testimony of two suggesting that one of the plotters “took with him a dog on this murderous enterprise.”

“Let’s also put to one side for the moment the notion that multiple murders was planned to be committed in front of the hordes of camera-wielding paparazzi, any one of whom could have photographed these events,” The Sun quoted Horwell, as saying.

“If we put all these factors to the side just for the moment: What, in your opinion, is the viability of a plan achieving its objective to either kill or seriously incapacitate the occupants of the Mercedes?’’ he added.

Read said he believed there was “little chance,’’ noting that he had previously testified that it was “surprisingly difficult’’ to stage a collision even under controlled conditions.

“It really is a non-starter. Both the participants in the venture would have to understand and have to have accepted the very real possibility that they would be seriously injured if not killed themselves,” Read said. (ANI)