London (AFP) – A lawyer for Britain’s Prince Harry on Tuesday slammed an “unjustified” decision to downgrade his police protection, telling a London court the prince had recently faced threats from paparazzi and even Al-Qaeda. Following Harry’s split with the royal family in 2020 and move to America with his wife Meghan, the government decided his security during visits to Britain would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
King Charles III’s youngest son made a rare visit to London for the latest stage of the long-running legal saga, watching his appeal unfold from inside the Royal Courts of Justice. Dressed in a dark suit with a blue patterned tie, he looked on in the courtroom, occasionally whispering to his solicitor and wrote in a notebook.
After Harry, 40, stopped being considered a working royal in 2020, the government decided he would not receive the “same degree” of publicly funded protection when in Britain. The prince took legal action against the interior ministry in 2021, and after his initial case was rejected last year, he brought a challenge before the Court of Appeal.
Lawyer Shaheed Fatima told the court the prince had been “singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment.” In a written submission, his lawyers highlighted threats made against the prince. “Al-Qaeda recently called for (Harry) to be murdered,” and he and Meghan were “involved in a dangerous car pursuit with paparazzi in New York City” in May 2023, the submission said, without providing full details.
Harry was widely criticised when in his autobiography “Spare” he claimed to have killed 25 people in Afghanistan, sparking ire from the Taliban. Harry has long been haunted by the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997 as she tried to escape paparazzi photographers. Harry and Meghan have started a new life in California and are now largely estranged from the royal family.
But the prince has said security concerns have hampered his ability to visit Britain, and his trips have usually been fleeting. In a written submission, Harry’s lawyers said the prince and Meghan “felt forced to step back” from frontline royal duties because “they considered they were not being protected by the institution.”
The prince’s legal battle centres on the February 2020 decision to downgrade his security, made by the interior ministry and a committee that deals with the protection of royals and public figures. In early 2024, the High Court ruled against Harry’s case, saying the government had acted lawfully. The prince’s initial bid to appeal was refused in April last year, and he was ordered to pay about £1,000,000 ($1.27 million) in legal costs, according to The Times newspaper.
However, the following month, a judge said Harry could challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal. On Tuesday, Harry’s lawyer argued the committee had failed to carry out an assessment of the risks to the prince and that the High Court had been wrong to overlook this. As a lawyer representing the interior ministry set out the government’s case, the prince shook his head.
James Eadie said the basis for Harry’s security arrangements had been adjusted due to “his change of status and because he was now going to live abroad for the majority of his time.” In its written submission, the government insisted Harry’s security “would be considered depending on the circumstances.” The two-day hearing is to end on Wednesday with some parts held in private due to security concerns. A decision is expected in writing at a later date.
© 2024 AFP
