That’s rich!

Paul Burrell, the ex-butler who’s cashed in on Diana for years, accuses Channel 4 of being ‘seedy’ for screening her video tape secrets

WHEN it comes to protecting the memory of Princess Diana from tittle-tattle, his track record is hardly unblemished.

Yet Paul Burrell has become the latest former member of her inner circle to criticise Channel 4’s decision to screen a documentary featuring private tapes.

The former butler, whom Diana called her ‘rock’, described the programme as ‘seedy’ and like ‘raiding her diary’.

Mr Burrell, 59, has made thousands in lucrative deals in the 20 years following the death of the Princess of Wales.

Princes William and Harry accused him of betrayal, after his book, A Royal Duty, was published in 2003.

But yesterday Mr Burrell said airing the tapes, of private conversations Diana had with her speech coach Peter Settelen, would upset William and Harry.

He told ITV Yorkshire: ‘I think those tapes were made privately for the Princess’ own use... I don’t think they should be broadcast. It’s almost like raiding her diary. That’s wrong... It can only upset Prince William and Prince Harry.

‘I understand that there is a thirst for new information but I think it’s a step too far. We all need to draw a line underneath it, remember the good times... It’s not going back into the past and delving through laundry and seedy tapes and thoughts that were never meant to be made public.’

In an outspoken statement in 2003, William and Harry, just 21 and 19 at the time, said of Mr Burrell’s book: ‘We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal.

‘It is not only deeply painful for the two of us but also for everyone else affected and it would mortify our mother if she were alive today.’

Mr Burrell, who the following year took part in I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, insisted his book was ‘nothing more than a tribute to their mother’.

Yesterday one of Diana’s close friends, Rosa Monckton, called for a boycott of the ‘intrusive’ Chan- nel 4 documentary, Diana: In Her Own Words, which is due to be screened on Sunday night.

Mrs Monckton, 63, who has written to Channel 4 to protest, told The Guardian: ‘It was very wrong of him [Settelen] to ask all those leading questions and it was naive of her to have agreed to do it.

‘But nonetheless it was like a therapy and therapy should remain private.’

The Queen’s former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, has also criticised Channel 4, accusing the broadcaster of exchanging ‘grubby blood money’ with Mr Settelen.

The recordings contain revelations about Diana’s bulimia and intimate details about her relationships with Prince Charles and others. Channel 4 said: ‘ The excerpts from the tapes recorded with Peter Settelen have never been shown before on British television and are an important historical source.

‘We carefully considered all the material used in the documentary and, though the recordings were made in private, the subjects covered are a matter of public record.

‘This unique portrait of Diana gives her a voice and places it front and centre at a time when the nation will be reflecting on her life and death.’

‘It’s like raiding her diary’