-Caveat Lector-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_538000/538395.stm
Former Guardian editor Peter Preston has told a court Harrods boss Mohamed
al-Fayed told him in 1993 he paid MPs - including Neil Hamilton - to lobby
for him in Parliament.
Mr Preston, giving evidence in the libel case brought by the former Tory
MP, said he had gone to see the Harrods owner about information he claimed
to have about Saudi funding of the Tory party.
During the conversation the name of another Tory MP, Tim Smith, came up and
Mr al-Fayed went on to describe how Mr Smith had asked questions and worked
for him in the House of Commons.
Mr Preston said Neil Hamilton's name was also mentioned.
He sadi: "I was told Ian Greer had come along and been hired by him
(al-Fayed) and provided what seemed to be a repertory company of MPs who
would put down Parliamentary questions and lobby on his behalf."
This struck me as larger and more sinister than anything I had come across
in my previous career
Mr Preston said he was told the businessman had seen Mr Hamilton and Mr
Smith separately and alone, and "money - cash in hand" had changed hands.
He said: "I was very interested in that story, principally because at that
stage it seemed to me I was being told of - conspiracies is the wrong word -
but a wider grouping of MPs who could be fielded in the House of Commons."
Mr Preston said he knew there had always been people in every walk of life
who would act corruptly, but he was struck by the organisation of what he
had heard - rather than the process being left to "individual freelance
acts".
Although he did not take notes at that or several subsequent meetings, the
former editor said he would jot down a few reminders afterwards in the taxi
or standing in the ante-chamber of Harrods.
Mr Preston said: "It struck me as something which in my experience as a
journalist was on a scale beyond which I imagined these things could take
place.
"I write a lot about American affairs and lobbying and I hadn't realised
that that sort of thing on this level could happen here. I thought it was a
very important story and should be out in the open because the public needed
to know about it."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_532000/532499.stm
Mohamed al-Fayed has issued a challenge to the Duke of Edinburgh during the
second day of his cross examination in the libel trial brought against him
by Neil Hamilton.
Mr al-Fayed called on Prince Philip to sue him over his allegations that the
Duke had "masterminded" a conspiracy to kill the Princess of Wales and his
son Dodi.
The events surrounding the death of Diana Princess of Wales dominated
proceedings at the High Court on Monday where Neil Hamilton is suing the
Harrods boss for libel.
Mr Hamilton says his career was ruined when Mr al-Fayed claimed in a Channel
4 programme that the former Tory MP took cash for asking parliamentary
questions. He has always denied the allegations.
Seeking to establish a pattern of persistent dishonesty, Mr Hamilton's
lawyer, Desmond Browne QC, asked Mr al-Fayed about his controversial theory
that the deaths of Diana and his son, Dodi, was caused by the British
security services and his claims that Diana and Dodi planned to marry.
But Mr al-Fayed objected to a lawyer questioning him on his reaction
following the deaths of Diana and Dodi.
Let Prince Philip sue me. Let MI5 and MI6 sue me ... they know they are
above the law.
Mohamed al-Fayed
The Egyptian-born businessman stood by his earlier claim that Prince Philip
was responsible for the fatal 1997 car crash.
Mr Browne QC, asked Mr al-Fayed about his involvement in an ITV programme
suggesting the Paris crash killing Princess Diana and Dodi had been the
result of a conspiracy.
"I have told you before I am a father who has lost his son and I have the
right to do anything to find out how I lost my son and, please, I have asked
you several times not to capitalise on my grief," replied the Harrods
supremo.
Mr al-Fayed appealed to the judge, Mr Justice Morland, to tell the lawyer to
stop asking him questions about the Paris crash.
But Mr Browne told him: "Mr al-Fayed, I am not capitalising on your grief. I
am asking you about matters you have made public yourself."
The barrister had asked Mr Al Fayed if he had known when he was interviewed
for the ITV programme that it was "likely to suggest that the crash had been
a conspiracy and not an accident".
Mr Browne suggested: "You believed at this time, did you not, that the crash
had not been an accident, but the result of a conspiracy?"
He replied: "I have the right to believe everything. I have the right to
find out how my son has been killed."
Mr Browne then said Mr al-Fayed had accused the Duke of Edinburgh of
masterminding the crash because of his "German blood and Nazi views".
Mr al-Fayed said: "I have the right to say what I feel and what I believe. I
have a lot of support, I receive millions of letters."
Mr Browne asked Mr al-Fayed about an August 1998 article in The Sunday
Mirror in which he said there was no doubt Dodi and Diana would have
married.
The barrister also quizzed Mr al-Fayed over allegations in The Sun
newspaper, which appeared two days later, which said his talk of a marriage
had been lies.
Mr al-Fayed said simply: "I am the father. I know exactly what my son is
doing. Everyone else - it's just jealousy, envy."
When asked why he did not sue for libel over the article, Mr al-Fayed said:
"I don't need to sue every newspaper because on a daily basis I am insulted
by the establishment."
The Harrods boss integrity was further probed when he was asked why he had
backed out of his attempt to sue The Observer newspaper when it claimed he
did not use his own resources to buy Harrods.
Mr Browne said: "I'm suggesting that you used litigation and the threat of
litigation to gag the press and try to conceal the truth."
Reprimanded by judge
During the day's proceedings Mr al-Fayed made references to the recent
revelations about Lord Archer and to the imprisonment of the former Tory MP
Jonathan Aitken.
On both occasions he was reprimanded by the judge.
Mr al-Fayed accused the former Home Secretary, Michael Howard, of receiving
a �1m bribe from rival tycoon Tiny Rowland to obstruct his purchase of
Harrods.
Mr Browne suggested the allegations about Mr Howard was as untrue as Mr
al-Fayed's comments about the Duke of Edinburgh.
Mr al-Fayed said: "I say about the tragedy what I believed. I believe
because I'm so close. I was so close to Princess Diana and I know what
happened to her in the years of her marriage".
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