Diana's post-mortem samples were swapped prior to test, claims new book

A new book has claimed that Princess Diana's post-mortem samples were switched with those from another woman prior to the toxicological testing.

According to documents uncovered for the book, published this week, the toxicologist at London's Charing Cross Hospital received the samples of another female and tested them in the belief that they were from Princess Diana.

In his latest volume in a series about the Diana inquest, author John Morgan believes that he has discovered the truth of what occurred in the 24 hours following the deaths of the Princess and Dodi Al Fayed in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997.

"There is a lot of evidence which points to the toxicology testing being carried out on samples that did not come from the body of Princess Diana," the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

The Australian-based writer who lives in Brisbane said he had uncovered a litany of conflicting evidence, inconsistencies, mislabelling of body samples, cover-ups, evidence and witnesses who were never called to give evidence at the inquest.u00a0

He is now calling for independent DNA tests to be carried out on the body samples.

"The samples at Charing Cross Hospital have never been subjected to DNA testing. With so much conflicting evidence, how can we be sure?" Morgan said.

"The evidence I have studied indicates that there are two lots of samples. One belongs to Diana, which is held by the Metropolitan Police's Operation Paget, and the other lot are samples from another body and held by Charing Cross Hospital.

"Diana's UK post-mortem samples were switched ahead of the toxicology testing," he added.

"The jury were not given the post mortem and toxicology reports on Diana. If they had, they should have been able to work out that the toxicology testing was conducted on samples that weren't Diana's," he said.u00a0

"For example, Diana's body was embalmed in France, but there was no embalming fluid in the toxicology tested samples, " he added.

Morgan went on: "Diana had consumed alcohol that night in Dodi's apartment and later at the Ritz Hotel

It is recorded by the Hammersmith and Fulham mortuary manager that her stomach smelled strongly of alcohol, but there was no alcohol in the samples tested in London," he added.