THE news that the chauffeur was drunk when he drove Diana, Princess of Wales and her friend Dodi Fayed on their doomed journey puts a whole new complexion on the involvement of the paparazzi in this terrible tragedy.

If the latest information to come out of Paris is true, the chauffeur and the paparazzi were engaging in what amounted to a game.

Apparently the driver threw down a catch-me-if-you-can challenge to the assembled pack.

It is doubtful if Diana and her friend realised what was going on until the Mercedes hurtled into the underpass at a crazy speed.

Having said that, the basic factor remains.

The aggressive, ruthless freelance photographers who make up the ranks of the paparazzi regularly force the famous, or those who drive them, into taking evasive tactics.

No one is immune from their unwelcome attentions.

Last night's television pictures of photographers, perched on the pillions of motor cycles trying to take pictures of the French President as he was driven through Paris, graphically illustrated the problem. These people are willing to risk life and limb as well as put the lives of others in jeopardy as they pursue the pictures which they hope will make them a fortune.

The latest twist to the tragedy also underlines the folly of drinking and driving.

Surely there can be no more stark lesson than this one.

The revelation that the chauffeur thought he had finished work for the day when he went to a bar to drink wine is another awful aspect of this tragedy.

He was obviously recalled to drive the Princess and Dodi Fayed.

Surely he should have held up his hand and said he had drunk far too much wine to drive a high powered car through the streets of the French capital.

Lawyers acting for the paparazzi claim the riders were too far behind the Mercedes to impede the driver.

But if they had not been chasing like a pack of hounds the driver, drunk or not, would not have been driving into that underpass like a maniac and the Princess would have today been enjoying the company of her two beloved sons.

The actions of the driver were disgraceful.

But the paparazzi should not be allowed to use his irresponsible conduct as a decoy for their own shameful tactics.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.