The Firestones, along with their then 11-year-old son Brandon, were travelling through Paris by taxi to their hotel after going on a night cruise along the Seine river on August 31, 1997. They entered the Pont de l’Alma tunnel just moments after the black Mercedes driven by Henri Paul crashed and killed Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed. The only survivor was royal bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones.
But while the 2007 inquest into the deaths found no evidence of foul play or conspiracy, the Firestones say what they witnessed that night suggests otherwise.
“We still live in fear today because of what we saw and what we were told,” Robin told The Express newspaper.
“I do not think Diana’s death was an accident, and the action of the authorities makes me believe that to this day more than ever. The whole crash was an establishment thing.”
As their taxi pulled up next to the car wreckage, Robin recalls seeing two other cars she describes as “formal” and dark in colour. They stuck in her mind because they appeared awkwardly parked in front of the crashed Mercedes as though one was shielding the other.
Bizarrely, although the crash had happened moments before and the car’s inhabitants were still inside, there was one police officer standing by the car amid swarms of photographers.
“He was acting as if it didn’t seem like an emergency at all. We thought the survivors had already been taken off to the hospital,” says Jack.
When the Firestones returned to their hotel, and learnt they had been witness to the accident that killed Princess Diana, they approached a policeman to offer a statement but were told they had enough witnesses.
“We went up to him and I said, ‘Listen, we were in the tunnel last night and we need to talk to the police because there are things that we saw’.
“Without hesitation, he said ‘they have enough witnesses. Don’t worry about it.’”
“We were dumbfounded,” recalls Robin. “One of the most famous women in the world is killed and they don’t want to speak to witnesses. It was so perplexing.”
It was only after they gave an interview to media that the Firestones were finally approached by the French authorities to give a statement and claim their interview was botched and disorganised and later, lost.
A decade on, the couple were asked by the Fayed legal team to provide testimony at the inquest into Diana and Dodi’s deaths, but the dismissive attitude of the presiding judge, Lord Justice Scott Baker, led them to believe there were darker forces at play.
“They clearly didn’t want me there,” says Robin “There is a reason why. I do not think Diana’s death was an accident, and the action of authorities makes me believe that to this day more than ever.”
Now, the couple hope Princess Diana’s sons will eventually learn the truth and those responsible will be brought to justice.
Indeed, amid the renewed interest, a shock arrest seems more likely than ever.
“I hope that one day, as William and Harry grow older that they want to take responsibility to find out what really happened to their mother,” says Jack. “If it was my mother I would definitely want to know. I hope that some day they will find out the truth.”
To this day, Robin and Jack say they live in a gated community because they fear reprisals for speaking out.
“We still live in fear today because of what we saw and what we were told,” Robin told The Express. “Something bad could still happen to us. There are enough nuts out there who may try to silence us.”
Meanwhile Jack tells New Idea they have never accepted payment for any interview, insisting, “I can’t be bought.
“If we did, it would make everything we’ve ever said or written ‘suspect’.”
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