A MAN has been arrested for stealing computer equipment linked to the senior police officer leading the inquiry into the death of Princess Diana.

David Forster, 28, appeared before magistrates in Newcastle charged with burgling an office used by former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens.

Laptops belonging to Lord Stevens' assistant were taken in the raid.

Mr Forster, of Wooler Crescent, Gateshead, was remanded in custody.

Lord Stevens is the head of Operation Paget, the inquiry into the death of the Princess of Wales in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

He has vowed to investigate conspiracy theories surrounding the crash, which also killed Diana's lover, Dodi Fayed, and chauffeur Henri Paul.

Lord Stevens' office is in the Regent Centre, in Gosforth, Newcastle, although it is not marked in any way.

The theft sparked fears the computers could contain sensitive material from Operation Paget.

But the former Northumbria Police chief said the stolen laptops did not belong to him and that no personal material or material relating to the inquiry was targeted in the break-in.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman also said the laptops did not contain sensitive information.

Northumbria Police said they were investigating two burglaries at the premises.