Prince Harry has faced strong criticism over his claim that his police protection was withdrawn to prevent him and Meghan from leaving Britain to live abroad.

The Duke of Sussex suggested the removal of their taxpayer-funded security in 2020 was a strategic move to keep them in the UK.

 

Former Scotland Yard chief Dai Davies has branded this assertion about his security arrangements “complete nonsense”.

Davies explained: “He is given a liaison officer who has access to the most up to date intelligence reports.”

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Prince Harry was in London earlier this week for a Court of Appeal hearing regarding his security arrangements in the UK

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He added: “The idea that he needs 24/7 armed protection is ridiculous – so too is the idea that Britain is unsafe for him.”

Home Office sources involved in the 2020 decision insisted neither Harry nor his lawyers claimed at the time that his security was taken away to “trap” him and his wife in the Royal Family.

“This is a new argument,” one highly placed source told the Mail on Sunday.

A source close to Priti Patel, who was Home Secretary in 2020, said the decision to scale back Harry’s security “was a professional one” taken by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) following the Sussexes decision to step back as working royals.

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Prince Harry travelled to the UK last week to attend a two-day appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice

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The source added: “It would be beneath [the Queen] not to allow Ravec to do their job professionally, or make leanings against them.”

The source emphasised that Ravec would have made all assessments based on professional judgement.

They told the Daily Mail: “Ravec would have consulted the head of the Royal Family about these changes at the time, who would have been the Queen.”

Harry was in the UK last week attending a two-day appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, challenging the Ravec decision.
\u200bPrince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, leaves the High Court after attending the second day of appeal hearing

Prince Harry leaves the High Court after the final day of his appeal hearing

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Speaking as he left court, Harry said: “We were trying to create this happy house.”

He later told The Telegraph he was “exhausted” and “overwhelmed” by the legal case.

Harry suggested he was upset with elements of the evidence heard behind closed doors, claiming “people would be shocked by what’s being held back.”