Prince Harry begins High Court legal battle against Home Office: First hearing set to be held today over Duke of Sussex’s demand for police protection when he and Meghan visit UK
- The Duke of Sussex wants to bring his children to visit UK from the United States
- But he claims they are ‘unable to return to his home’ because it is too dangerous
- Harry and Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded police protection at start of 2020
- The Prince is arguing protection team in US doesn’t access British intelligence
Prince Harry’s High Court claim against the Home Office for not to allowing him to pay for police protection while in the UK will have its first hearing on Friday.
The Duke of Sussex wants to bring his children to visit from the US, but claims they are ‘unable to return to his home’ because it is too dangerous, his lawyer has said.
Harry and Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded police protection in the aftermath of quitting as senior working royals in early 2020.
The Prince is arguing his private protection team in the US does not have jurisdiction abroad or access to UK intelligence which is needed to keep his family safe.
His bid for a review of the Home Office decision was filed in September.
The Duke of Sussex wants to bring his children to visit from the US, but claims they are ‘unable to return to his home’ because it is too dangerous, his lawyer has said
Harry and Meghan (pictured in the UK in 2019) lost their taxpayer-funded police protection in the aftermath of quitting as senior working royals in early 2020
Lack of protection stops us coming to UK, says the Duke of Sussex: Statement in full
The full statement issued by a legal representative of Prince Harry late last night after the MoS broke the story about his legal action:
Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.
While his role within the institution has changed, his profile as a member of the Royal Family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK.
In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home.
The Duke first offered to pay personally for UK police protection for himself and his family in January of 2020 at Sandringham.
That offer was dismissed. He remains willing to cover the cost of security, as not to impose on the British taxpayer.
As is widely known, others who have left public office and have an inherent threat risk receive police protection at no cost to them.
The goal for Prince Harry has been simple – to ensure the safety of himself and his family while in the UK so his children can know his home country.
During his last visit to the UK in July 2021 – to unveil a statue in honour of his late mother – his security was compromised, due to the absence of police protection, whilst leaving a charity event.
After another attempt at negotiations was also rejected, he sought a judicial review in September 2021 to challenge the decision-making behind the security procedures, in the hopes that this could be re-evaluated for the obvious and necessary protection required.
The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in. With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.
Prince Harry hopes that his petition – after close to two years of pleas for security in the UK – will resolve this situation. It is due to a leak in a UK tabloid, with surreptitious timing, we feel it necessary to release a statement setting the facts straight.
Friday’s preliminary hearing at the High Court at London is expected to cover what parts of the court documents can be made public or must be kept private.
Harry has previously said he ‘inherited’ a risk on being born into the royal family.
He briefly returned from LA last year for the July 1 unveiling of the Diana statue and, the day before he met sick children at a WellChild garden party in Kew Gardens.
It is understood the duke’s car was chased by photographers as he left. Harry’s mother Diana died in a car crash after she was chased by the paparazzi in Paris.
The Duke wants to fund the security himself, rather than ask taxpayers to foot the bill, a legal representative for Harry said.
The statement said: ‘As is widely known, others who have left public office and have an inherent threat risk receive police protection at no cost to them.’
‘The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in,’ the legal representative for the duke said in a statement.
‘With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.’
The representative continued: ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK.
‘In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home.’
They went on: ‘Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.
‘While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the Royal Family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.’
The legal representative added: ‘The Duke first offered to pay personally for UK police protection for himself and his family in January of 2020 at Sandringham. That offer was dismissed.
‘He remains willing to cover the cost of security, as not to impose on the British taxpayer.
‘As is widely known, others who have left public office and have an inherent threat risk receive police protection at no cost to them.
‘The goal for Prince Harry has been simple – to ensure the safety of himself and his family while in the UK so his children can know his home country.
‘During his last visit to the UK in July 2021 – to unveil a statue in honour of his late mother – his security was compromised due to the absence of police protection, whilst leaving a charity event.
‘After another attempt at negotiations was also rejected, he sought a judicial review in September 2021 to challenge the decision-making behind the security procedures, in the hopes that this could be re-evaluated for the obvious and necessary protection required.’
Before moving into their nine-bedroom, £10 million home in Montecito, California, the Sussexes were given the use of a mansion (above) owned by entertainment tycoon Tyler Perry, who also provided the couple with security
Ahead of Prince Philip’s funeral, Harry travelled to Britain with his private security team, but was met on the tarmac at Heathrow by Scotland Yard protection officers. It is understood that was not the case when he returned to the UK for the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace with his brother William in July (above)
The Queen was believed to have been made aware of his action, which is thought to be the first time a member of the Firm has brought a case against the Government.
A source told the Mail on Sunday last month: ‘Harry’s argument in a nutshell is: ‘You got the law wrong.’ He feels the decision to remove his security was wrong.
‘Pre-action protocol was sent by Harry’s lawyers to the Home Office a couple of months ago. This is essentially a precursor to a judicial review.’
Harry and Meghan’s security provision was one of the key issues when the couple announced they wanted to step down in January 2020.
They were later forced to disclose they had put in place ‘privately funded security arrangements’ for their move to the US, after then president Donald Trump said his country would not pay for their protection.
A Government spokesman said: ‘The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
‘It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements.
‘To do so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security. It would also not be appropriate to comment on the detail of any legal proceedings.’
What is Harry’s concern with UK security and why is he taking legal action?
Are Harry and his family covered by security arrangements currently?
He and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, personally fund a private protection team in the US for their family.
The Sussexes have signed multimillion-pound deals with Netflix and Spotify, with Harry telling Oprah Winfrey he secured these to pay for his security.
But he and Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK in the aftermath of quitting as senior working royals.
Why did they lose their taxpayer-funded security?
Their security provision was one of the key issues when the couple announced they wanted to step down in 2020.
Speaking to Winfrey during the couple’s sit-down interview in 2021, Harry said he was told that ‘due to our change of status – we would no longer be ‘official’ members of the royal family’.
He said he had been shocked by this and ‘pushed back’ on the issue, arguing that there had been no change of threat or risk to the couple.
Meghan, during the same interview, told how she had written to her husband’s family urging them not to ‘pull his security’, but had been told ‘it’s just not possible’.
At the time of announcing their stepping back from royal life in 2020, their website suggested the Home Office, through the Metropolitan Police, should continue to provide protection for the couple and Archie, their only child at the time.
Have they offered to pay for police protection in the UK themselves?
Yes. Harry wants to fund the security himself, rather than ask taxpayers to foot the bill, his legal representative said.
He first offered to personally pay for police protection in the UK for himself and his family during the so-called Sandringham summit in January 2020, but the legal representative said that offer ‘was dismissed’.
The representative added that Harry ‘remains willing to cover the cost of security, as not to impose on the British taxpayer’.
Can they use the same security team they have while in the US?
Harry’s legal representative said that while the couple personally fund a private security team for their family, ‘that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK’.
His argument is that the US team does not have adequate jurisdiction abroad or access to UK intelligence information which is needed to keep the Sussex family safe.
So what is Harry doing about the issue of his UK security now?
In September 2021, he filed a claim for a judicial review against the Home Office decision not to allow him to personally pay for police protection for himself and his family while in the UK.
His legal team said this course of action was taken ‘after another attempt at negotiations was also rejected’.
They said the judicial review bid is an attempt to ‘challenge the decision-making behind the security procedures, in the hopes that this could be re-evaluated for the obvious and necessary protection required’.
What threats do the couple see themselves as facing in the UK?
In a statement, the legal representative said: ‘He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats. While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the Royal Family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.’
Has the Home Office said anything about the bid for judicial review?
A Government spokesperson said: ‘The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements. To do so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.
‘It would also not be appropriate to comment on the detail of any legal proceedings.’
Will the couple return to the UK if the issue is not resolved in the way they would like?
A spokesperson for the duke has said that, in the absence of what they consider to be the necessary protection, ‘Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home’.
They insisted the UK ‘will always be Prince Harry’s home’, adding that it is ‘a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in’.
But they added: ‘With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.’
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