SAS Claimed To Be Behind Diana Crash
18.08.2013
The Special Air Service (SAS) has been implicated in the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, it has been reported. [1]
News of 22 SAS's alleged involvement in Diana's death surfaced during the recent trial of SAS sniper, Danny Nightingale, who was prosecuted for illegally possession a firearm and ammunition.
The allegations come from the estranged parents-in-law of "Soldier N", a member of the SAS and a key witness in the case. The parents of Soldier N's estranged wife wrote a letter to the commander of the SAS in which they claimed that the soldier had revealed to his wife that the SAS were behind the 1997 car crash in Paris that claimed the life of Diana Spencer and Dodi Fayed and that this involvement had been covered up. Royal Military Police handed this letter over to Scotland Yard, who must now decide if this new information warrants re-opening their investigation into the matter.
Conspiracy theories about Diana's car accident have persisted over the nearly 16 years since the tragic events of August 1997, many of which point the finger at the British intelligence establishment. Various motives have been put forward for the act, including unease about Diana's high profile campaign against land mines to worries over her close relationship with a Muslim.
While such conspiracy theories can probably be dismissed as wild and unsupported speculation, it may be of interest to examine the who and how of any proposed special forces involvement in the events of the 31st August 1997.
First, lets examine who may have been involved. Given the extreme sensitivity of a plan to assassinate such a high profile figure as Diana, it seems unlikely that such an operation would be arbitrarily assigned to special forces soldiers on regular duties. It seems more likely that such a task would be trusted to elements more deeply secluded within the secret intelligence infrastructure. Luckily, for this little flight of fantasy we are embarking on, there are several such elements that appear to fit the bill.
The Increment
It's long been suspected that MI6 - otherwise known as the Secret Intelligence Service or SIS - has operated a secret cadre of operatives known as 'the Increment'[2]. A mix of serving special forces soldiers and SIS officers, the Increment is rumoured to be the in-house special operations arm of the SIS - and by extension the Foreign Office. The Increment is said to carry out so-called 'deniable operations' in support of the Foreign Office around the world. The existence of such a group was given credence by a January 2012 BBC report into the activities during the NATO campaign in Libya of a unit known as 'E Squadron', which is noted to be the modern day equivalent of the rumoured Increment cell[3].
Group 13
Another shadowy unit, sometimes referred to as 'Group 13', is said to be another SIS creation, differing from the Increment in that it recruits former special forces officers rather than those still in active service. This practice may indicate that Group 13 moves in murkier waters than the Increment. The unit have been the subject of conspiracy theories surrounding the deaths of several high profile people including Dr. David Kelly, the Biological weapons expert.[4][5]
So, assuming, for the sake of speculation, that a unit such as the Increment or Group 13 were somehow involved in Diana's car crash, the question then becomes: how was it done? Several theories abound about what may have happened.
'Boston Brakes'
The first involves that notion that operatives tampered with the Mercedes car that Diana, Dodi, her bodyguard, Trevor Reese-Jones and the driver, Henri Paul were travelling in. The theory goes that the car's electronic control unit (ECU) or other control(s) would be somehow altered/replaced to allow for remote interference, including disabling the brakes, taking over the steering and flooring the accelerator, leading inevitably to a high speed crash. The idea that such a method may exist is given credence by a former SAS operative. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, a former SAS(R) soldier and famous adventurer, has made claims that such a method, known as 'Boston brakes' has been used on several occasions by intelligence services as an assassination method. The method gets its name from the city where it was first used, by the CIA.[6]
The Flash Gun
Another assassination theory involves the use of a bright flash to blind Diana's chauffeur and cause the crash. The idea is that a special forces or SIS operative, perhaps riding pinion on a motorcycle and indistinguishable from paparazzi chasing Diana's car, would fire a powerful flash or strobe light into the eyes of Henri Paul, causing him to collide with one of the pillars in the tunnel the car was racing through. The capability to use such a flash gun to cause vehicle, helicopter and plane crashes was claimed by Richard Tomlinson, a former MI6 spy. Tomlinson testified in the 2008 inquest into the tragedy that he had been shown such a device by a member of the SBS while he was receiving training at the SBS base in Poole.[7]
The Fiat Uno
Finally, others have speculated that an assassin was driving a white Fiat Uno, widely believed to have been present in the underpass at the time of the crash. Using advanced driving techniques taught to special forces and intelligence operatives, the theory claims, the Uno deliberately clipped Diana's Mercedes, sending it careering into a pillar. Some theorists place the flash gun operator from the paragraph above in the back seat of the Uno.
It should be made clear that the theories mentioned in this report are just that: theories - and poorly supported ones at that. Stories such as this always seem to surface around the time of the anniversary of the crash. No doubt this latest one will keep the conspiracy theories going for many years to come, especially as it proports to originate from a member of the Regiment.
more info / further reading:
- 1. Scotland Yard examines new information on death of Diana, Princess of Wales
(the telegraph)
- 2. The Increment
(Elite UK Forces report)
- 3. E Squadron
(Elite UK Forces report)
- 4. GROUP 13 - deniable assassination
(www.declarepeace.org.uk report)
- 5. GROUP 13
(www.deepblacklies.co.uk report)
- 6. Boston Brakes: "No Skidmarks in the Sky"
(www.veteranstoday.com report)
- 7. Diana death crash was 'just like a plot by MI6'
(daily express)
