The Princess visiting Angolan landmines earlier this year

Diana Denies Attack on Tories

In a statement issued from Kensington Palace, a member of Diana's staff said: "The Princess made no such criticism. Her stance on the question of landmines has been apolitical throughout. Her concerns are exclusively humanitarian."

The release came hours after controversy erupted around an interview in the established French newspaper.

The interview that was meant to highlight Diana's favourite image of herself

Le Monde said it stood by its interview with Diana and insisted she had labelled the last government "hopeless" on the issue of landmines.

According to Le Monde, she said: "The Labour Government's position has always been clear. It's going to do terrific work. Its predecessor was really hopeless." The princess's press office says she did not make the last comment about the Tory government.

Executive editor Edwy Plenel said: "The journalist, Annick Cojean, has been a staff reporter here for 15 years. She is very serious, very professional and she speaks fluent English. It is not a concoction. Annick Cojean met Princess Diana. It was a long interview, not gossip, a serious interview."

He added: "Princess Diana has denied only one sentence of the interview. I think it is a diplomatic denial."

Ms Cojean said the interview came about when she wrote to Diana asking her to select her favourite photograph of herself for the magazine. The princess, she said, responded immediately to the request.

Annick Cojean

"Diana did not see the article before publication" Dur: 3'28"

Diana had immediately chosen the picture of herself holding a young cancer sufferer in Boston. She had only briefly criticised the Tory government's policy on landmines.

Ms Cogean confirmed some parts of her article had been sent to Kensington Palace for the Princess to preview. They did not include the alleged comments about the previous government.

That was not her practice or the arrangement with the Princess, the journalist insisted.

She told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "We didn't discuss so much about that. They say that on certain things they wanted to see what I made the Princess say and I said yes. But we hadn't a real agreement that she would see everything and she would see the article. I never do that kind of thing."

The journalist was adamant the Princess had criticised the Conservative government. "Of course she said it. I wrote exactly what I heard and what she said," Ms Cogean said.

Tory MPs Attack Diana as Cook Sings Her Praises

Tory MP Sir Patrick Cormack rounded on the princess accusing her of being "an inexperienced young woman" making "partisan, political" comments. But the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, praised her "courage" in speaking out on the landmines issue.

Sir Patrick told BBC Radio 4's The World At One: "I think she was extremely unwise in what she did. No pun intended, but she has entered a political minefield herself."

"The fact is she's wrong in what she said. The previous Government's policy certainly was not hopeless. In fact there was very little difference between the approach of the previous Government and this one on these horrific weapons," he said.

Robin Cook: "immense admiration"

Former Southampton Test Tory MP Sir James Hill - a one-time chairman of the Tory backbench committee on constitutional affairs, said Diana must keep out of politics - and that if she would not, she should be "disciplined" by the Royal household.

But the Foreign Secretary, who arrived in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur at the start of a six-day tour of South-East Asia, said he had "immense admiration" for Diana.

Asked whether it was sensible for the Princess - who has been campaigning for a world-wide ban on landmines - to intervene in such a manner, Mr Cook retorted: "I have never criticised anyone for being frank about the previous government.

"I am very pleased she recognises the Labour Government shares her concern and has already made very substantial progress towards signalling Britain's complete withdrawal from the production and trade in landmines. I have immense admiration for the courage she has shown in taking such a lead on this issue."