Diana's inquest cost rises to 4.5 mn pounds

The cost of the coroner's inquest surpasses imaginable limits with the largest expediture of 1.85 mn pounds being given in fees to the lawyers who assisted him.

The cost of the coroner's inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed has risen to more than 4.5 million pounds (USD 9 million; euro5.5 million), the coroner reported on Tuesday.

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The figure does not include the last few days of the inquest. The largest expenditure was some 1.85 million pounds (USD 3.7 million; euro2.3 million) in fees for the lawyers who assisted the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker.

The coroner's jury concluded earlier this month that the couple were unlawfully killed due to the reckless behavior of the paparazzi who pursued them, and the reckless driving and drinking of their driver, Henri Paul.

A British police investigation ordered by a previous coroner and legal representation for police at the inquest cost 8 million pounds (USD 16 million; euro10 million).

The 4.5 million pound figure (USD 9 million; euro5.5 million) does not include costs for lawyers representing the Secret Intelligence Service and the Foreign Office at the inquest.