Diana inquest probes murky world of espionage

British intelligence officers are facing unprecedented public scrutiny as they take the stand at the inquest into Princess Diana's death to deny claims that the security services killed her on the royal family's orders.

Their former boss has already given a fascinating glimpse into the murky world of espionage -- but this is not all about glamorous 007 figures. Theirs is a more mundane world of bureaucratic checks and balances.

With his deadly array of guns and gadgets, James Bond has a Licence to Kill in his constant battle to thwart villains plotting world domination.

In reality, the world's most famous spy would need a Class Seven authorization agreed by his line managers and personally signed by the Foreign Secretary.

Britain's former spy chief Richard Dearlove gingerly lifted the lid on this secret world when giving evidence to the inquest into the 1997 deaths of Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed in a Paris car crash.

"His testimony made the security services sound more like a firm of accountants than a bunch of 007s," The Daily Telegraph concluded.

Now it is the turn of 10 serving and former intelligence officers to appear in court -- but their identities will be protected and they will be just referred to as numbers or letters.

The court will be cleared of the media and public on Tuesday when they start to give evidence, which will be piped by audio link to an annex. Reuters