Rees says Di car followed

Shropshire bodyguard Trevor Rees today told an inquest how a car and two motorbikes followed the Mercedes carrying Diana, Princess of Wales, as it left a Paris hotel on its fateful journey.

Mr Rees this morning told the High Court in London he could remember being followed as the Mercedes travelled from the Ritz Hotel.

He said the car was followed by two cars and a motorbike after it pulled away with the convoy, including a white hatchback.

He said he did not have a clear recollection but he did remember that part of the journey.

He said: "I believe the vehicle was parked on the far side of the road on the pavement and as our vehicle drove off it followed us."

Mr Rees, of Oswestry, yesterday revealed he had received threatening letters after the crash.

Mr Rees, formerly Trevor Rees-Jones, was a front seat passenger when the black Mercedes crashed in a Parisian underpass in August 1997, killing the Princess, her boyfriend Dodi al Fayed and driver Henri Paul. Mr Rees, who was employed by the al Fayed family at the time, was the only survivor.

He told Diana and Dodi's inquest yesterday he had received "threatening" letters and telephone calls when he worked in an Oswestry sports shop during his recovery after the crash.

He said the anonymous caller told him they knew who he was and where he worked and told him to "keep quiet".

The inquest was told yesterday he had failed to protect Diana and Dodi on the night they were killed.