Diana inquest won't subpoena the Queen or Prince Philip

Neither the Queen nor her husband, Prince Philip, will be called to testify at the London inquest into the deaths of Diana and her companion Dodi Fayed, a coroner said Friday.

Lord Justice Scott Baker said it would not be useful to question the Queen or her husband during the inquiry into the August 1997 deaths of the late Princess of Wales and Fayed, who died in a car crash in a Paris tunnel.

Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi Fayed's father, has claimed that Prince Philip was behind an establishment conspiracy to have the pair killed to thwart their plan to marry.

"In my judgment, it's not expedient to call [Prince Philip] to give evidence, nor do I think the Queen should be asked to answer the questions by Michael Mansfield," Baker said.

Al Fayed was extremely disappointed by the ruling, spokeswoman Katharine Witty said.

"He hopes the coroner will make publicly known his reasons for the decisions," she said. "In the meantime, Mr. Al Fayed's lawyers are discussing the legal options open to them, including judicial review."

Baker's ruling came during a closed session of legal argument and much of its contents cannot be made public because the inquest jury was not present.

Perjury allegations

In related news, British police said Friday they'll wait until the inquest has ended before looking into allegations Diana's former butler perjured himself.

Paul Burrell has refused to return to the inquiry to respond to questions raised by British newspaper the Sun. In a video posted on the newspaper's website, Burrell suggests he withheld information from the jury during his testimony earlier in the year.

London's Metropolitan Police said any decision about a future probe will be made in consultation with Baker after the inquiry ends, which may be in April.

Baker has said he can't compel Burrell to return and said any further information from the former butler would be read to the jury.

A written response from Burrell was read to the jury on Thursday. He said he had not concealed "anything remotely relevant to the inquiry."

"I accept that whilst I was under cross-examination my evidence may at times have strayed from the strictly relevant, but at no time did I tell any untruths. I tried to assist the court as far as I was able," he said.

In the Sun video, posted Thursday, Burrell says he was "very naughty" and "threw in a couple of red herrings" during his appearance at the inquest.

Burrell, who now lives in Florida, also suggests on the video he withheld information from the inquiry.

"I told the truth as far as I could but I didn't tell the whole truth," he says.

Burrell has been acquitted of stealing items from Diana's estate and has written two books about her. He has vowed not to write any more books about Diana.

The inquest began five months ago after a decade of British and French police investigations and French court proceedings. Both investigations concluded the deaths were accidental.