Princess Diana's Car Was 'Sabotaged'

PRINCESS Diana was convinced there was a plot by spooks to kill her in a car crash after the brakes mysteriously failed on her Audi soft-top.

FEAR: Princess Diana thought the brakes of her Audi had been sabotaged prior to her death in a car crash [GETTY]

She was sure the hushed-up incident in west London was a warning from her powerful enemies whom she dubbed “the men in grey suits”, royal author John Morgan claimed last night.

He said she feared there was a plot by to kill her and that she outlined her fears in notes and phone calls to her lawyers and friends in the months leading up to her eventual death in alongside Dodi Fayed, 42, in a car crash in central Paris.

PLOT: Diana feared there were plans to bump her off following her divorce from Charles [GETTY]

Diana, who had been stripped of her HRH status by the Queen, predicted: “This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous.

“They are planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and serious head injury...”

Mr Morgan, who has written nine books about Diana’s death, said: “Two factors – the enforced expulsion from the Royal Family and her move to become the public face of the anti-landmine campaign – were destined to have far-reaching consequences the following year.

“There is one factor that is consistent with Diana’s fears, her concern that there would be a serious car accident.

“The brake failure incident was hushed-up until after her death.

CRASH: The mangled shell of the Mercedes that was carrying Diana and Dodi [GETTY]

Mr Morgan revealed that Diana, who died aged 36, told four other close friends, including Lady Annabel Goldsmith and Elsa Bowker, her brakes had been tampered with.“But Diana was convinced it was no accident and the question remains, was it a warning or the first assassination bid?” The brake failure came as she drove back to Kensington Palace from a doctor’s appointment in Marylebone in her green Audi in November 1995.

Her friend Simone Simmons revealed in Mr Morgan’s book, The Assassination of Princess Diana, that Di was convinced a saboteur had tampered with the brakes on her sporty convertible.

Simone recalled: “She rang me and said: ‘Someone’s tampered with my brakes... They are trying to bump me off.’ She was panic stricken and very upset.

“As she approached some traffic lights she put her foot on the brake but nothing happened and the car kept coasting forward.

“When eventually it came to a halt she leapt out, abandoned it and went straight back to Kensington Palace in a taxi.”

And she warned them: “If something does happen to me it will be MI5 or MI6.”

Mechanics who checked the car’s brakes claimed the problem was “wear and tear” but the Princess refused to believe them.