LONDON, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - The coroner examining the death of Diana, Princess of Wales launched a scathing attack Tuesday on her former butler, telling the jury at her inquest it was 'blindingly obvious' he lied as a witness.

Lord Justice Scott Baker suggested Paul Burrell -- who has created a lucrative career from his links to Diana -- had been selective with his evidence to ensure he did not 'impact on his future enterprises.'

He described 49-year-old Burrell's behaviour as 'pretty shabby' and urged the jury to 'proceed with caution' in reflecting on his evidence when they consider their verdict.

On the second day of his summing-up of the inquest, the coroner referred to comments Burrell made to a British newspaper in a 'sting' operation last month -- in which he admitted to a friend he had included 'red herrings' in his evidence.

Baker said: 'You have heard him in the witness box and even without what he said subsequently in the hotel room in New York, it was blindingly obvious, wasn't it, that the evidence that he gave in this court was not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

'All in all, you may think that Mr Burrell's behaviour has been pretty shabby.'

Burrell rejected a request from the coroner to return to the inquest from his Florida home to explain the comments he made to the newspaper.

Following Diana's death with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed in a Paris car crash in 1997, Burrell has written two books about working for her, appeared on reality television shows in the United States and Britain and appeared on the lecture circuit.

In his evidence in January he was criticised by the coroner for secretly copying Diana's private correspondence before publishing it in his books.

Baker also mocked Burrell's claim to have been the princess's 'rock', accusing him of being 'a porous rock' because he leaked her secrets.

The inquest was briefly halted Tuesday after the coroner said he had received an email from France referring to a possible sample from the body of Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes who was also killed by the crash.

But after a pause the coroner told the jury 'the problem has been resolved and there's nothing to be worried about.'

On Monday, he told the jury there was 'not a shred of evidence' to support tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed's theory that Diana and his son were murdered by the British secret services on the orders of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II and Diana's former father-in-law.