MI6 former chief denies plot to kill British Princess Diana

LONDON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6 (Secret Intelligent Service) of Britain, denied on Wednesday that the intelligence service executed Diana, Princess of Wales.

Dearlove, who had worked for MI6 in various roles between 1966 until his retirement in 2004 as its chief, attended Diana's inquest in a rare exception to the cardinal principle within the intelligence services never to comment on any allegations made against it, Sky News reported.

Dearlove's appearance is to rebut claims made by Mohamed al Fayed that Diana and his son Dodi were killed by MI6 on the orders of the Duke of Edinburgh.

It is alleged that they were killed because Diana was pregnant with Dodi's child and the couple were about to get engaged.

Dearlove told the jury this was a "very personal allegation" considering he was head of MI6 at the time of the fatal Paris car crash in August 1997 which killed Diana, Dodi and their driver Henri Paul.

Last week, the inquest heard from a renegade spy who claimed he had seen a file on a security officer working at The Ritz in Paris.

Richard Tomlinson also claimed MI6 had considered a plot to kill Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic by blinding his driver with a bright flash of light in a tunnel.

Following Dearlove's appearance in the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi al-Fayed, announced the coroner, further serving and former members of MI6 will give witness evidence during the week commencing Feb. 25.