Fayed security chief admits lying

LONDON, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A former security chief for Mohamed al-Fayed admitted Thursday he lied about the drinking of the driver in the Paris crash that killed Princess Diana.

John McNamara told the British court investigating the 1997 deaths of the princess and Dodi Fayed that he had seen Henri Paul drink two Ricards, the BBC reported. In an interview, McNamara, a former British police officer, claimed that Paul had been drinking pineapple juice.

Al-Fayed maintains that the crash was not an accident or caused by Paul's drinking but arranged by British intelligence agents to prevent Diana from marrying his son.

On Wednesday, a former MI6 agent fired in 1995 testified that the crash in a tunnel resembled plans he had seen to kill Slobodan Milosovec, the late president of Yugoslavia, by using a strobe light to blind his chauffeur in a tunnel in Geneva, The Daily Telegraph reported. Richard Tomlinson said he realized his former colleagues could have arranged the crash when he heard witnesses had reported seeing a bright flash of light before the crash.