London, Dec 6: Henri Paul, the driver who died with Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed in the fatal Paris crash ten years ago, was in regular touch with French intelligence.

Paul, the deputy head of security at the Ritz hotel in Paris, fed information about important guests to the French intelligence service Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST), the ongoing inquest in London has heard.

Claude Roulet, assistant to the Ritz president, told the jury that Paul put him in contact with the DST when an important Russian diplomat was coming to stay.

He said that police often asked the hotel about the movements of high-profile guests.

“The French police knew about the arrival of some guests and when they needed to have a look at what they did they asked the security services at the Ritz to have some tips about what they did and when they came in and went out and who they met and so on," the Scotsman quoted Roulet, as saying.

Asked if Ritz employees were happy to aid intelligence agents, Roulet said, “Not happy, but we had to.”

Dodi’s father Mohamed Al Fayed has said he is convinced that Paul was in the pay of spies, and the Aug. 31, 1997, crash that killed his son, Diana and Paul was an MI6-led plot executed on the orders of the Duke of Edinburgh.

The court heard that Paul was first recommended for his job at the hotel by a police officer.

Asked if it was Paul's work to aid police with inquiries about guests, Roulet said: "Usually it is the task of the security chief, but Henri Paul had very good contacts with the French police, so maybe he was contacted more than his chief."

Roulet also revealed that Dodi had picked out a diamond encrusted ring for Diana hours before they died.

He said he brought a selection of jewellery to the suite on the night of Aug. 30, 1997, and showed them to Dodi when the princess was not around.

He said Dodi browsed through rings, bracelets and watches and finally picked an 11,500 pounds ring called “Dis-moi Oui” — or Tell Me Yes. (ANI)