What must Neil Hamilton be thinking?

People are querying why it should have cost the taxpayer £7 million to find out what (most of us) already knew - that Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed were not murdered by MI6 on the orders of the Duke of Edinburgh.

When the inquest began I was one of those who thought it was a complete waste of time and (taxpayers') money. Today, I believe it was the right thing to do, if only because it puts to rest Mohamed Fayed's absurd conspiracy theories.

The Times reports HERE that "after hearing more than 250 witnesses, [the coroner] Lord Justice Scott Baker said that the Harrods owner’s claims were so manifestly without foundation that even his lawyer was no longer pursuing them".

As you read the judge's comments, spare a thought for Neil Hamilton, the former Conservative MP whose political career was destroyed by Fayed (see HERE and HERE).

I should declare an interest because the late Lord Harris of High Cross, who was chairman and later president of Forest from 1987-2006, was Neil Hamilton's appeal fund organiser. I therefore know something of the strain - which included the threat of jail if he didn't reveal the names of Hamilton's financial backers - that Ralph experienced in the defence of his friend.

You may argue (and you may be right) that the two cases are quite separate and one has no bearing on the other, but I wonder what Neil and his wife Christine are thinking today?

Update on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 by Simon Clark

When I wrote this post I was unaware that Neil Hamilton had written THIS in his Sunday Express column (March 30). Another piece (October 21, 2007) begins: "It has been a bumper week for the health fascists." Full article HERE. Top man!