London, March 12: The paparazzi who were the first to reach the car crash which killed Princess Diana in Paris have been accused of lying to protect themselves.

Fifteen photographers were arrested, including seven at the scene of the crash in the Alma Tunnel in Paris in August 1997.

Some of the photogs took shots from less than two metres away with the dead and seriously injured clearly visible inside the mangled Mercedes.

However, nearly all told cops that they were not among the group who “chased” Diana and her lover Dodi Al Fayed’s Mercedes on August 31, 1997.

On March 11, police statements taken from photographers ten years ago were read out at the inquest into the couple’s deaths, reports The Sun.

Dodi’s father Mohammed Al Fayed's lawyer described the photographers’ version of events as a "concoction of lies".

Photographer David Odekerken was accused of lying over claims he was going home when he came across the smash.

Odekerken also said he only took pictures after medics arrived, but the film he handed over to investigators began at “frame five”.

A French judge cleared the paparazzi of involuntary manslaughter in 1999 due to lack of evidence. (ANI)