Scotland Yard launches new look at Princess Diana’s death

British tongues are atwitter after Scotland Yard announced over the weekend that police are giving the death of Princess Diana and her car companion Dodi al Fayed a second look, and taking seriously suggestions that the pair was not killed in an accidental crash but rather by special forces sent on a murder mission.

Police from France and Britain concluded years ago that the princess, al Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, died from a car crash that was completely accidental — that they were simply driving too fast. But talk has never died that something sinister was at play, and over the weekend the British newspaper The Mirror fueled talk further by publishing a report on the deaths as murder and the crash as a cover-up.

Yahoo reported that the murder angle surfaced during the second court-martial of Sgt. Danny Nightingale, who was found guilty of illegally possessing a gun. A letter presented during that trial was written by a former soldier’s in-laws, and it contained the claim that the Special Air Service “was behind Princess Diana’s death,” The Mirror reported.

Police wouldn’t say more about the information that led them to reopen the case, but Scotland Yard confirmed its interest on Monday.

“The Metropolitan Police Service is scoping information that has recently been received in relation to the deaths and assessing its relevance and credibility,” Scotland Yard put out in a statement reported by “Good Morning America.” “The assessment will be carried out by officers from the specialist crime and operations command. This is not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget.”

A spokesman for al Fayed’s father, Mohammad al Fayed, expressed interest in the new investigation. He has been one of the most vocal in claiming his son and the princess were murdered.

“Mr. al Fayed has no comment but notes the Metropolitan Police statement that it is investigating,” the spokesman said, as Yahoo reported. “He trusts that their investigation will be thorough and awaits the outcome with interest.”