Burrell, who lives in Florida, was asked by Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker to explain discrepancies between his testimony to the inquest in January and later comments reported by The Sun newspaper.

But, he refused to return to Britain to answer more questions or give evidence on video, the Times of London said.

The prospect of a perjury probe arose after it was reported that Burrell was shown bragging on a hidden video camera about withholding information during his testimony.

A written statement from Burrell, read in high court Thursday, said he hadn't concealed "anything remotely relevant to the inquiry."