A former officer in Britain’s SAS has rubbished claims that the elite unit was involved in the death of Princess Diana.

Diana, the ex-wife of Britain’s heir to the throne Prince Charles, died in a Paris hospital on August 31, 1997 after the Mercedes she was travelling in slammed into a concrete pillar while being pursued by paparazzi.

Boyfriend Dodi al Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul died at the scene while Trevor Rees-Jones, a member of the Fayed family’s protection team and the only person in the car wearing a seatbelt, survived.

The longest-running and most expensive inquest in British history concluded in 2008 that Diana and Fayed had been “unlawfully killed” by the grossly negligent driving of a heavily intoxicated Paul and the chasing vehicles.

Dodi’s father Mohammed al Fayed had long claimed the couple were murdered by MI6 agents.

Scotland Yard says there are now detectives checking “the relevance and credibility” of information received recently, including an allegation that Princes Diana was murdered by the SAS.

British media has reported that the allegation came from the estranged parents-in-law of a member of the SAS, who gave evidence in the trial this year of Danny Nightingale, a SAS sniper convicted of illegally possessing a weapon.

The man said to be the source of the allegations, known only as “Soldier N” in the trial, was himself convicted of illegal weapons possession.

The parents of “Soldier N’s” estranged wife reportedly wrote to the SAS’s commanding officer, claiming “Soldier N” had told his wife the unit “arranged” Diana’s death and it was “covered up”.

The information was reportedly passed onto Scotland Yard by the Royal Military Police.

However, Colonel Tim Collins, a former SAS officer told the Telegraph overnight: “It’s utter nonsense. This is just wishful thinking on the part of somebody.”

Another senior officer labelled the claims “a pretty wild idea”, adding: “No idea where it comes from.”

Former bodyguard says new claims are a ‘publicity stunt’

Ken Wharfe, the Princess’s former Metropolitan Police bodyguard, told the Telegraph that the source of the claims raised questions about their truth.

“Why has it taken so long to air this new information? It seems so shallow to me,” he said.

“I just think it’s a bit of a publicity stunt.”

A spokesman for Mohammed al Fayed said he was “interested in seeing the outcome” and urged police to investigate the claims “with vigour”.

Scotland Yard said it was not prepared to discuss the matter further, while a royal spokesman said there would be no comment from Diana’s sons William or Harry, or from Charles’s Clarence House office.

The defence ministry also said it was not commenting.

Diana married Charles in 1981 but their already shaky marriage fell apart soon after Harry’s birth in 1984, with both sides admitting adultery.

They separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

Diana’s first grandchild, Prince George, was born last month to William and his wife Catherine in the same London hospital where Diana herself gave birth to William and Harry.

The Princess of Wales had been dating Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan for about two years before her brief relationship with Fayed in the weeks before her death.

A film titled Diana, about her relationship with Khan and starring Australia’s Naomi Watts in the title role, will have its world premiere in London on September 5.