Friday, September 3, 1999 Published at 15:31 GMT 16:31 UK
Diana bodyguard cleared in crash inquiry
Henri Paul had been unable to control the Mercedes, said the report
All charges against the nine photographers and the press motorcyclist implicated in the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, have been dropped.
Friends of Mr Rees Jones said he had been dreading the publication of the report but respected the findings of the French magistrate.
He will be playing in the team's first game of the season this weekend.
The report into the car accident in Paris found that Ritz hotel chauffeur Henri Paul was mainly to blame because he was drunk and under the influence of anti-depressants.
He died alongside the princess and Dodi Fayed in the crash.
The French public prosecutor had recommended that no action be taken, although there was no obligation on Judge Herve Stephan to follow that advice.
There will also be no action over charges of failing to assist persons in danger, an offence under French law.
The photographers, who acknowledge tailing Diana, had claimed they were made scapegoats and maintained throughout the investigation that they bore no responsibility for the accident.
Judge Stephan also concluded that Dodi Fayed's decision to order an off-duty security official, who was drunk, to drive the Mercedes had contributed to the crash.
But the report added that Dodi could not be reproached for his actions.
His father, Harrods and Ritz Hotel owner Mohamed al-Fayed, says he will appeal against the findings.
He has said that he is prepared to take his case to the Supreme Court in an attempt to find those responsible for the crash.
Judge Stephan and Marie-Christine Devidal, the other investigating judge, focused on the actions of Henri Paul, who was found to be three times over the drink-drive limit.
"His state did not allow him to control the speeding car on a difficult portion of the road," the magistrates said.
"He also had to avoid a vehicle travelling in the same direction but at much lower speed."
This might refer to the mysterious white Fiat Uno, suspected of brushing the Mercedes but which has never been found.
But the investigation "did not formally find a definite link between the accident and those under investigation".
The judge did note, however, that the photographers' behaviour had been severely criticised by several witnesses.
He said that their actions, despite their moral and ethical implications, did not "constitute an infraction of the criminal code".