Baroness Butler-Sloss is to step down as coroner for the Princess Diana inquest after admitting she feels she is not up to conducting such a high profile jury hearing.

　　日前，英国已故王妃戴安娜的验尸官、男爵夫人巴特勒－斯洛斯宣布辞去戴妃验尸官一职。巴特勒－斯洛斯此前表示，她不能胜任主持一个有陪审团参与的立场鲜明的死因听证会。

　　Her shock announcement at lunchtime today immediately raised the prospect of further delays to the controversial inquests into the deaths of Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed which are due to start in October.

　　据《每日电讯报》4月24日报道，去年10月，英国再度开始调查戴安娜王妃和她男友多迪·法耶茨的死因。就在更多谜团有望揭开之时，巴特勒－斯洛斯在24日午饭时宣布的辞职计划让人震惊。

　　In a statement Lady Butler-Sloss, 73, a senior and experienced former judge, said: "This was a decision I took in the interests of the inquests after a great deal of thought and reflection."These inquests now require a jury, and I do not have the degree of experience of jury cases that I feel is necessary and appropriate for presiding over inquests of this level of public interest", she said. 

　　现年73岁的男爵夫人巴特勒－斯洛斯曾是一位经验丰富的大法官。她在一份声明中表示：“这是我在经过深思熟虑后做出的决定。目前，调查需要一个陪审团，而我没有负责过调查如此受关注案件的经验。”

　　Lady Butler-Sloss, former head of the Family Division, had originally ruled the inquests would be held without a jury. But this was immediately challenged by Dodi’s father, Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed, who last month won a judicial review against her decision to sit alone. She suffered the indignity of her decision being overturned by three senior High Court judges. She had also originally sought to hold preliminary pre-inquest hearings in private but backed down on that in December after Mr Fayed threatened to challenge.

　　报道说，巴特勒－斯洛斯最初不同意让陪审团参与戴妃和法耶茨死因案的调查，但这遭到法耶茨父亲的反对。最后，巴特勒－斯洛斯不要陪审团的建议被最高法院的3名法官否决。巴特勒－斯洛斯原本也坚持不公开戴妃案初步听证会的过程，但也因老法耶茨的反对而妥协。

　　She will quit the role in June when Lord Justice Scott Baker will take over. He will be the third person to take charge of the inquest, which has yet to start in full nearly 10 years after the Princess was killed in a Paris car crash.

　　报道说，巴特勒－斯洛斯将在6月辞去戴妃验尸官的职务，她的接任者为大法官斯科特·贝克。贝克由此成为自戴安娜在巴黎发生车祸身亡后第3位主持调查她死因的人。

　　Former royal coroner Michael Burgess stepped down from heading the inquests in July citing a "heavy and constant" workload.

　　前皇家验尸官迈克尔·伯吉斯是第一位止步于戴妃死因调查的人，他辞职的理由是“沉重和持久不变的工作”。

　　The announcement will be seen as a major setback for the inquests, raising the prospect that the hearings, expected to cost the tax payer many millions, will be further delayed. However, Lady Butler-Sloss’s statement added: "I must stress this does not require a fresh start for the inquests - I will continue to preside over pre-inquest hearings until Lord Justice Scott Baker takes up the appointment in June.