A former tabloid newspaper editor says he and other media figures bore some responsibility for the death of Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash while pursued by paparazzi.
Phil Hall, former editor of News of the World, Britain’s largest-selling newspaper, was interviewed for an ITV documentary to be broadcast on Wednesday reflecting on the death of the princess and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed a decade ago.
“I felt huge responsibility for what happened and I think everyone in the media did,” Hall said.
He noted that the driver of the car, who also died in the crash in Paris, was found to be drunk.
“But my view is that if the paparazzi hadn’t been following her the car wouldn’t have been speeding and, you know, the accident may never have happened,” Hall said.
Hall was editor of the Sunday newspaper, from 1995 to 2000, and now runs a public relations company.
Police inquiries in both France and Britain concluded that pursuing photographers did not cause the crash, or fail to act properly at the scene.
In 2002, France’s highest court dropped manslaughter charges against nine photographers.
In February, a Paris appeals court imposed fines of $1.35 each against photographers Jacques Langevin, Christian Martinez and Fabrice Chassery for invasion of privacy for taking pictures of Diana and Fayed on the night of the crash.