LONDON: Prince Harry lost a court challenge against the UK government on Wednesday over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the country.
The youngest son of King Charles III launched legal action against the government after being told in February 2020 that he would no longer be given the “same degree” of publicly-funded protection when in Britain.
“The ‘bespoke’ process devised for the claimant in the decision of 28 February 2020 was, and is, legally sound,” High Court judge Peter Lane said in his 52-page judgment.
Harry sensationally left Britain in 2020 with his wife Meghan, eventually settling in California in the United States.
The prince told a hearing at London’s High Court in December that security concerns were preventing visits back to the United Kingdom.
“The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children,” he told court in a written statement read out by his lawyers.
“That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe.
“I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too,” he added.
Harry’s mother Princess Diana was killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997 as she tried to escape paparazzi photographers.
Lawyers for the government rejected claims that Harry was “singled out” and treated “less favorably” or that a proper risk analysis was not carried out.
James Eadie, for the interior ministry, told the court that it was decided Harry would not be provided the same level of protection as before because he had left life as a working royal and mostly lived abroad.
In May 2023, Harry lost a bid for a legal review of another government decision refusing him permission to pay for specialist UK police protection himself.
The interior ministry argued then that it was “not appropriate” for wealthy people to “buy” protective security when it had decided that it was not in the public interest for such taxpayer-funded protection.
London’s Metropolitan Police also opposed Harry’s offer on the grounds that it would be wrong to “place officers in harm’s way upon payment of a fee by a private individual.”
It is one of many legal cases launched by Harry.
Earlier this month, he settled a long-running lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), whose journalists he accused of being linked to deceptive and unlawful methods, but vowed to continue his legal battles with several other UK media outlets.
Harry is one of seven high-profile people, including Elton John, bringing legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
He and actor Hugh Grant are also suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), part of Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire and publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World tabloids, over similar claims.
However, Harry last month dropped his libel case against UK newspaper the Mail on Sunday over an article on his legal battles with the UK government.
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Prince Harry loses case against UK government over security
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Prince Harry loses case against UK government over security
- Lawyers for the government rejected claims that Harry was ‘singled out’ and treated ‘less favorably’
Taiwan says Chinese drone made ‘provocative’ flight over South China Sea island
TAIPEI: A Chinese reconnaissance drone briefly flew over the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea on Saturday, in what Taiwan’s defense ministry called a “provocative and irresponsible” move.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, reports Chinese military activity around it on an almost daily basis, including drones though they very rarely enter Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the Chinese reconnaissance drone was detected around dawn on Saturday approaching the Pratas Islands and flew in its airspace for eight minutes at an altitude outside the range of anti-aircraft weapons.
“After our side broadcast warnings on international channels, it departed at 0548,” it said in a statement.
“Such highly provocative and irresponsible actions by the People’s Liberation Army seriously undermine regional peace and stability, violated international legal norms, and will inevitably be condemned,” it added.
Taiwan’s armed forces will continue to maintain strict vigilance and monitoring, and will respond in accordance with the routine combat readiness rules, the ministry said.
Calls to China’s defense ministry outside of office hours on a weekend went unanswered.
In 2022, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast controlled by Taiwan.
Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.
The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan’s military, but lie at a highly strategic location at the top end of the disputed South China Sea.
China also views the Pratas as its own territory.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, reports Chinese military activity around it on an almost daily basis, including drones though they very rarely enter Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the Chinese reconnaissance drone was detected around dawn on Saturday approaching the Pratas Islands and flew in its airspace for eight minutes at an altitude outside the range of anti-aircraft weapons.
“After our side broadcast warnings on international channels, it departed at 0548,” it said in a statement.
“Such highly provocative and irresponsible actions by the People’s Liberation Army seriously undermine regional peace and stability, violated international legal norms, and will inevitably be condemned,” it added.
Taiwan’s armed forces will continue to maintain strict vigilance and monitoring, and will respond in accordance with the routine combat readiness rules, the ministry said.
Calls to China’s defense ministry outside of office hours on a weekend went unanswered.
In 2022, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast controlled by Taiwan.
Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.
The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan’s military, but lie at a highly strategic location at the top end of the disputed South China Sea.
China also views the Pratas as its own territory.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
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