A former soldier who claims Princess Diana was murdered by an SAS squad is reported to have fled Britain just before he was due to be questioned by police.
Known only as 'Soldier N', the man is rumoured to have fled to the United Arab Emirates earlier this week, reports the Daily Mail.
He is alleged to have told his estranged wife the Princess died after a special military unit shone a bright light into the face of her driver before he crashed in a Paris underpass in 1997.
Diana died in the crash along with her lover, Dodi Fayed
Soldier N is believed to have been due to meet with police to discuss the allegations.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told The Sunday People: "Soldier N is key to this inquiry as he is the person who made the claims about Diana's murder.
"Pressure on him has been mounting since the original story broke last month. He was aware police wanted to interview him.
Scotland Yard announced last month it was "scoping" fresh information on the accident and "assessing its relevance and credibility".
It is understood the allegations were made by the former parents-in-law of Soldier N based on information that the he talked about in the past, according to a military source.
The hearing into the deaths of Diana and Dodi lasted more than 90 days with evidence from around 250 witnesses.
The inquests concluded on April 7 2008, with a jury returning a verdict that the ''People's Princess'' and her boyfriend were unlawfully killed.
After the hearing, Metropolitan Police said they had spent £8 million on services arising from the inquest and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006.
That money includes the cost of the legal team which represented the force's commissioner at the inquest, police protection for the inquest jury and paying for the Paget inquiry, reported to have cost £3.6 million.
Former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens's Paget investigation was launched in 2004 at the request of Michael Burgess, the Royal Coroner, who was then overseeing the future Diana inquest.
The former top policeman published his report in December 2006, rejecting the murder claims voiced by some, including Dodi's father Mohamed al Fayed.
Lord Stevens's investigation found that Diana was not murdered by British spies nor by the Duke of Edinburgh and she was not pregnant nor engaged to boyfriend Dodi.
Operation Paget concluded, just like the French investigation in 1999, that driver Henri Paul was drunk and driving at excessive speed.
The investigation dismissed the endless conspiracy theories sparked by the fatal accident.
Mr Paul had an alcohol level of around 1.74 grams per litre at the time of the crash - about twice the British drink-drive limit.
The black type S280 Mercedes was being driven through the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris at around 61 to 63mph - twice the speed limit for that section of road.
Lord Stevens said allegations that Diana was murdered were ''unfounded'' and that he found nothing to justify further inquiries with members of the Royal Family.
The Ministry of Defence said tonight it was not commenting on the matter.
Diana, mother of William and Harry, was 36 at the time of her death, while Dodi was 42.
A spokesman for Mr al Fayed said he had no comment to make, but said he will be "interested in seeing the outcome", adding that he trusts the Met will investigate the information "with vigour".