Princess Diana's sons welcome 'unlawful killing' verdict

Updated April 8, 2008 11:34:45

Princes William and Harry, the sons of Princess Diana, say they agree with a jury verdict that their mother and her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed were unlawfully killed in 1997.

In the verdict returned by the inquest in London into the couple's death, the jury said there had been gross negligence on the part of the couple's driver, Henri Paul, and the paparazzi pursuing them.

The princes have issued a statement thanking the jury for accepting the disruption to their lives over the past six months.

They've also thanked the only survivor of the Paris car crash, bodyguard Trevor Rees, and others who came forward to give evidence.

The statement also expresses the princes' profound gratitude to all who fought to save their mother's life on the night of the crash.

The verdict was issued more than ten years after the car crash in a Paris road tunnel in which Princess Diana, Dodi al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul were killed.

Two earlier police inquiries carried out by French and British officers had concluded the crash was an accident.