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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Robert Jobson
Aired January 04, 2004 - 07:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: On Tuesday, public hearings will delve into the details behind the accident that killed Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed more than six years ago.
Joining us from London to talk about what is expected to come out of the hearings, Robert Jobson, who is the royal correspondent for "The Evening Standard" newspaper.
Good day to you. Thanks very much for joining us today.
For folks who may expect big earthshaking details, they may be in for a bit of a surprise. This inquest, as I understand it, is basically little more than a cause of death?
ROBERT JOBSON, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT, EVENING STANDARD: You're spot on. The British inquest system will basically decide what actually killed Diana. And they'll be a verdict, I presume. And I would expect of accidental death.
But actually, what will happen on Tuesday is they'll be all the world's press gathered at the Westminster conference center, right opposite the abbey. And they'll be hundreds of hundreds of press there. And then they'll just be a statement issued by the coroner, who will come up with a statement and say he's going to look into this. And I think it'll be a few days before or even weeks before a verdict is actually delivered.
CALLEBS: So Mr. Jobson, what about all the conspiracy buffs out there? What are they going to think once all this comes out?
JOBSON: I think a lot of conspiracy theorists will, including Mr. Fayed, the father of the late Dodi Fayed, will be saying this is a cover-up, etcetera. But the reality is that's how the system would work. That's not what they're trying to find out in an inquest. And we're not going to have a full investigation, like we saw in the French investigation, because that's (unintelligible.)
And it's going to be simply what killed Diana. And it'll be concentrating, as I understand it, on the medical side of things and the circumstances surrounding the accident.
CALLEBS: And you bring up Dodi Fayed's father, because he has been the one has been vocally pushing for this now for six years. And he has already come out and said basically he is disappointed by what he expects the authorities to do.
Do you think there's any way he is ever going to be satisfied?
JOBSON: I don't think there's any way Mr. Fayed will be satisfied. As a parent, one most sympathize with him. He's lost a son. And the circumstances surrounding his death looked terrible. But the reality is it was the actual happened with an employee of Mr. Fayed's, who was driving in a car, with his car. And it must also be very terrible for him, because he's just trying to get to what he believes to be the truth.
And once he's convinced himself of that, I don't think any investigation will change his mind.
CALLEBS: And going back to bring people up to date, once again, the investigation said that Henri Paul, the driver, had been drinking at the time of the accident. And basically the French investigation lumped blame there. A lot of people suspect this is going to do the same thing.
What do you think this investigation, this public I guess look into how the accident happened or what the cause of death is, is going to do to the princess' legacy?
JOBSON: I think the princess' legacy is something that's really sort of evolving, really. She's now moved into being a historical figure. I think the pain, if you like, of the death and the loss of the princess is now past. And people are trying to evaluate her position in history. And I think her legacy is not all going to be about one accident, one crash and power. It's going to be about what she actually achieved in her life, which I'm sure, knowing the princess as I did, is what she preferred to be concentrated on, the humanitarian side of her achievements.
CALLEBS: A lot of ugly rumors have been associated with the death -- shortly after the death. Are any details going to come out, that you think could harm her legacy?
JOBSON: Well, I don't know. I'll have to wait and see. The reality is there's been an awful lot of rumor about the princess being pregnant. Whether or not that's true, no one seems to know. I don't even know if that will come out in the investigation, because obviously, that's not going to reflect whether -- part the cause of death.
So we'll have to see what Michael Burtis says on Tuesday. It's difficult to speculate at this stage.
CALLEBS: OK, Robert Jobson, the royal correspondent for "The Evening Standard," thanks very much for joining us from London. I'm sure we'll be checking in on the sixth, as you say. It does appear it's going to be a media circus. Thanks very much for joining us.
CALLEBS: Pleasure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 4, 2004 - 07:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: On Tuesday, public hearings will delve into the details behind the accident that killed Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed more than six years ago.
Joining us from London to talk about what is expected to come out of the hearings, Robert Jobson, who is the royal correspondent for "The Evening Standard" newspaper.
Good day to you. Thanks very much for joining us today.
For folks who may expect big earthshaking details, they may be in for a bit of a surprise. This inquest, as I understand it, is basically little more than a cause of death?
ROBERT JOBSON, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT, EVENING STANDARD: You're spot on. The British inquest system will basically decide what actually killed Diana. And they'll be a verdict, I presume. And I would expect of accidental death.
But actually, what will happen on Tuesday is they'll be all the world's press gathered at the Westminster conference center, right opposite the abbey. And they'll be hundreds of hundreds of press there. And then they'll just be a statement issued by the coroner, who will come up with a statement and say he's going to look into this. And I think it'll be a few days before or even weeks before a verdict is actually delivered.
CALLEBS: So Mr. Jobson, what about all the conspiracy buffs out there? What are they going to think once all this comes out?
JOBSON: I think a lot of conspiracy theorists will, including Mr. Fayed, the father of the late Dodi Fayed, will be saying this is a cover-up, etcetera. But the reality is that's how the system would work. That's not what they're trying to find out in an inquest. And we're not going to have a full investigation, like we saw in the French investigation, because that's (unintelligible.)
And it's going to be simply what killed Diana. And it'll be concentrating, as I understand it, on the medical side of things and the circumstances surrounding the accident.
CALLEBS: And you bring up Dodi Fayed's father, because he has been the one has been vocally pushing for this now for six years. And he has already come out and said basically he is disappointed by what he expects the authorities to do.
Do you think there's any way he is ever going to be satisfied?
JOBSON: I don't think there's any way Mr. Fayed will be satisfied. As a parent, one most sympathize with him. He's lost a son. And the circumstances surrounding his death looked terrible. But the reality is it was the actual happened with an employee of Mr. Fayed's, who was driving in a car, with his car. And it must also be very terrible for him, because he's just trying to get to what he believes to be the truth.
And once he's convinced himself of that, I don't think any investigation will change his mind.
CALLEBS: And going back to bring people up to date, once again, the investigation said that Henri Paul, the driver, had been drinking at the time of the accident. And basically the French investigation lumped blame there. A lot of people suspect this is going to do the same thing.
What do you think this investigation, this public I guess look into how the accident happened or what the cause of death is, is going to do to the princess' legacy?
JOBSON: I think the princess' legacy is something that's really sort of evolving, really. She's now moved into being a historical figure. I think the pain, if you like, of the death and the loss of the princess is now past. And people are trying to evaluate her position in history. And I think her legacy is not all going to be about one accident, one crash and power. It's going to be about what she actually achieved in her life, which I'm sure, knowing the princess as I did, is what she preferred to be concentrated on, the humanitarian side of her achievements.
CALLEBS: A lot of ugly rumors have been associated with the death -- shortly after the death. Are any details going to come out, that you think could harm her legacy?
JOBSON: Well, I don't know. I'll have to wait and see. The reality is there's been an awful lot of rumor about the princess being pregnant. Whether or not that's true, no one seems to know. I don't even know if that will come out in the investigation, because obviously, that's not going to reflect whether -- part the cause of death.
So we'll have to see what Michael Burtis says on Tuesday. It's difficult to speculate at this stage.
CALLEBS: OK, Robert Jobson, the royal correspondent for "The Evening Standard," thanks very much for joining us from London. I'm sure we'll be checking in on the sixth, as you say. It does appear it's going to be a media circus. Thanks very much for joining us.
CALLEBS: Pleasure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
