British ex-police chief says Diana investigations are 'complex'

Jan 27, 2006, 21:29 GMT

London - The British inquiry into the death of Princess Diana is more complex than anticipated, the retired police chief conducting the investigation has said.

Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in August, 1997, together with her then boyfriend, Dodi al Fayed.

Sir John Stevens, the former chief of London's Metropolitan Police, who is leading the British investigations, said in a TV interview that Dodi's father, Mohammed al Fayed, had been 'right to raise concerns' over the crash.

Al Fayed, the Egyptian owner of London luxury department store Harrods, has repeatedly claimed that Diana and his son were 'killed by British spies.'

However Stevens, in an interview with GMTV to be broadcast Sunday, did not specify his remarks. He said the questions raised by al Fayed were being 'pursued.'

Stevens has said earlier that his investigation, the first independent British inquiry into the death, would take into account all 'conspiracy theories.'

His investigations had been 'worthwhile', said Stevens. 'It is a far more complex inquiry than any of us thought.'

Results of the probe, which was ordered nearly two years ago, are expected to be published later this year.