Diana's butler: 'Rather a porous rock'

LONDON, April 1 (UPI) -- The British judge presiding over the inquest into Princess Diana's death, while summing up the evidence Tuesday, accused her former butler of "shabby" behavior.

Lord Justice Scott Baker suggested Paul Burrell has capitalized on his relationship with the princess while giving unreliable testimony at the inquest, the Daily Mail reported. Commenting on Burrell's description of himself as Diana's "rock," Baker called him a "rather a porous rock" since he revealed details of her personal life.

Baker listened to extensive testimony about the 1997 car crash that killed Diana and her lover, Dodi Fayed, the son of a wealthy businessman, Mohammed al-Fayed, who contends the crash was engineered by British intelligence, a claim Baker rejected this week as unproven.

Also Tuesday, Baker halted the inquest briefly after receiving an e-mail from France claiming new evidence about tests on the body of Henri Paul, who was driving the couple and was also killed. He sent the jury to lunch early while the e-mail was translated and then told them it was not an obstacle to continuing.

In summing up, Baker said jurors should not automatically reject everything Burrell said as a witness but urged them to weigh his statements carefully.