Keith Allen's controversial documentary examining the circumstances around the death of Princess Diana has been shelved after it failed to secure insurance against potential lawsuits. The Sun reports today (July 5, 2012) that 'Unlawful Killing,' directed by Keith Allen claimed that Princess Di and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed were murdered, in a plot which involved her father in law, Prince Philip (from her marriage to Prince Charles).
Distributors of the film were seeking insurance to protect them against legal action but failed to secure any. Lawyers reportedly warned the filmmakers that they would be required to make 87 cuts to the footage, to remove contentious allegations, before a British screening would be granted. There were plans to show the film in the US to coincide with the 15th anniversary of their deaths, on 31st August 1997. However, without insurance for the Europe-based distributors, this is also unlikely to go ahead.
The movie has already been screened, in Cannes, but the specific insurance required for the US showing has not been forthcoming. A spokesperson for the movie said "Unlawful Killing has been sold all around the world. But there was a specific form of insurance needed by the US distributors to cover them for their French and UK offices. This proved impossible to secure. The film has been withdrawn in perpetuity." The film cost a reported 2.5 million pound to make and was financed by Dodi's father, Mohammed Al Fayed. Mohammed has always claimed that the deaths were not an accident.