London: A paparazzo, who was the first to arrive at the site of the Paris car crash that killed Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed ten years back, offered the photos of the dying Princess to a newspaper for six-figure sum just hours after the tragedy, the couple's inquest heard.

Motorcyclist Stephane Darmon and his pillion-rider, photographer Romuald Rat, were first to reach the spot of the crash in the Alma underpass where they took photographs of the dying Princess with blood trickling down her face and struck a 300,000-pounds deal with the paper's photo editor on the phone while he was still in the tunnel, it was alleged.

Two days back, Darmon had testified at the inquest describing himself as merely a despatch rider and "tool" for his photographer. He had claimed that the couples Mercedes "took off like a plane" in busy traffic moments before it crashed in the Paris tunnel, and driver Henri Paul was drunk.

But, Richard Keen, the lawyer representing the family of Paul who was also killed in the crash, has questioned his account given to the jury. He told Darmon:

"Can I suggest that I think both you and Mr Rat's accounts contain a series of self-serving lies which you have told in the face of allegations of manslaughter and failing to give assistance to persons in distress."

Source : PTI