Wednesday, 6 November, 2002, 10:08 GMT

Former Royal butler Paul Burrell has claimed the Queen warned him his closeness to Diana, Princess of Wales, could put his safety at risk.

He says the dramatic comments were made during the same three-hour meeting that, when eventually recalled by the Queen, triggered the collapse of his trial for theft last week.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper, for which he was paid £300,000, he says she told him: "There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge."

Mr Burrell also claims that the Queen tried to build bridges with Diana before she died.

The interview in Wednesday's paper came after Mr Burrell won a High Court injunction against the Mirror's main rival, the Sun, stopping it from publishing extracts from legal statements he had made.

On Friday Mr Burrell, 44, was found not guilty of all three charges against him of stealing from Diana's estate, the Prince of Wales and Prince William.

The trial dramatically collapsed after it emerged he had told the Queen in a meeting two months after Diana's death that he was keeping some of the princess's possessions.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman would not comment on what was a "private meeting".

"There were only two people in the room and it is confidential," she said.

Queen's advice

In Mr Burrell's account of those pivotal discussions five years ago, the Queen revealed how she knew the extent of Paul's importance to Diana when she told him: "No-one, Paul, has been as close to a member of my family as you have."

Then, with the Queen looking him in the eye to make sure he knew she was being "deadly serious", she issued her dramatic warning about his safety.

"I had no idea who she was talking about," Mr Burrell says.

"There were many [people] she could have been referring to.

"But she was clearly warning me to be vigilant."

The crucial exchange concerning Diana's possessions involved Mr Burrell telling the Queen how he intended to "protect the princess's world and keep her secrets safe" to which she responded by "nodding her approval and smiling".

Mr Burrell said he was only speaking publicly now because he was concerned that the Queen's reputation was being eroded by speculation over her last minute involvement in the case.

Diana 'spoke in colour'

Mr Burrell also recounted to the Mirror how the Queen told him she tried to "reach out to Diana so many times", writing "many, many letters" to her.

He replied: "But the trouble was Your Majesty that you spoke in black in white. The princess spoke in colour."

Mr Burrell also gives an explanation for every single item he was accused of stealing and discloses what he told police when he was arrested.

His agent Dave Warwick called his story "stunning stuff".

Mirror editor Piers Morgan said the interview was "a riveting read".

He said Mr Burrell could have chosen to have told all the "lurid details" of his meeting with the Queen.

"He has been incredibly selective while reserving the right to have his say and put everything in context," he said.

Mr Burrell's injunction against the Sun was obtained in the High Court on Tuesday evening.

The Sun, which lost out in the bidding war for Mr Burrell's story, is running a spoiler. The paper questions the state of his relationship with the Princess.

Media lawyer Mark Stephens said it was a "bizarre state of affairs".

"Here's something which is so obviously in the public interest and has not been allowed to be put out in other newspapers," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2002