The jury, sitting at the High Court in London, has been told that Dodi Fayed's bodyguard Trevor Rees (formerly known as Rees-Jones) has little memory of the smash in Paris in the early hours of August 31 1997.

But Mr Rees is expected to be asked about events leading up to the tragedy in the Alma Tunnel in which Diana, her lover Dodi and Ritz Hotel security chief Henri Paul were killed.

His evidence is likely to be set against Mohamed al Fayed's contention that the crash was a plot orchestrated by MI6 at the behest of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Among areas he is likely to give evidence on will be the crucial question of the doomed plan for Mr Paul - who was not a chauffeur - to drive the couple that night as part of a ruse to evade the paparazzi.

Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker outlined to the jury in his opening in October that Mr Rees contends that Dodi had insisted on the plan while he "strongly advised" against it.

Dodi's father Mr al Fayed is convinced Mr Rees was turned against him by the security services, the jury has been told.

The Harrods tycoon believes he is lying about his memory loss and claims that his book "The Bodyguard's Story" was written by British spies, the coroner has told the jury.

Psychiatrist Dr Maurice Lipsedge told the hearing on Tuesday, in a written statement, that the bodyguard only remembered getting into the Mercedes with Diana, Dodi and Mr Paul but nothing after that.

Mr Rees, a former paratrooper, was the front seat passenger in the car and in the crash broke every bone in his face and suffered serious chest injuries.