Diana killed for trying to unmask arms dealer

London: More than 12 years after she died in a car crash in Paris, a leading defence lawyer has alleged that Princess Diana was murdered over her plan to expose UK's arms dealers.

Queen's Counsel Michael Mansfield has claimed that the late Princess of Wales even intended publishing an "explosive" diary to unmask those most closely involved with British land -mine manufacturing and the country's role in arms trade.

"Everyone remembers she raised the profile of the land mines. Everybody is aware that the British involvement in the arms trade, particularly land mines, is and was a huge vested interest. It seems to me she had planned various visits. She had already been to Angola and she was going to Cambodia. A large number of land mines had been manufactured by British. She claimed she had an explosive diary in which she was going to expose the people most closely involved in the British arms trade," leading British tabloid the 'Daily Express' quoted Mansfield as saying.

The Princess of Wales had angered ministers when she called for an international ban on land mines just months before her death in 1997.

She spoke out during a high-profile visit to Angola to meet some of the tens of thousands of innocent victims of the lethal devices.

At the time, British Defence Minister Earl Howe had described her as a "loose cannon" and claimed that she was ill-informed on the issue.

Mansfield represented Mohammed Al-Fayed, the father of Princess Diana's boyfriend Dodi who was killed alongside her, at the inquest into the couple's deaths which returned only a verdict of unlawful killing.

A Spokesperson for Princes William and Harry said they had "no comment" on the latest allegations.

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