BRITAIN:Mohamed al-Fayed pressured injured bodyguard Trevor Rees to come up with memories to support claims that Diana, Princess of Wales, was murdered, her inquest heard yesterday.
The Harrods boss pressed Mr Rees, the sole survivor of the 1997 car crash, to "remember" a mysterious flash in the Alma Tunnel in Paris seconds before the tragedy, the court heard.
The 39-year-old, who insists he has no reliable recollection of the crucial minutes before the smash, said the tycoon tried to "suggest possibilities" to him which left him feeling "uncomfortable".
The idea that a blinding flash of light caused driver Henri Paul to lose control is a key plank of Mr Fayed's theory that Diana was murdered by MI6 to stop her marrying his son Dodi.
The inquest heard yesterday how the princess felt like a "lamb to the slaughter" when she married the Prince of Wales in 1981 and that she later felt isolated.
Her former private secretary, Lieut Cdr Patrick Jephson, told the jury of the atmosphere of "poison", which he said existed in the 1990s following the revelations in Andrew Morton's book, Diana: Her True Story.
He also spoke of the "harmful effect" on Diana of mystics including one dubbed "Fergie's witch woman".
Mr Rees (formerly known as Rees-Jones) yesterday told how he was already back at work on light duties in early 1998 when he had a number of meetings with Mr Fayed.
"I personally felt, at that stage . . . pressure to remember what had occurred," he said. The inquest continues.