It is said he will no longer have the “same degree” of protection from public funding.
London:
Prince Harry lost a court battle on Wednesday over the British government’s decision to change his personal security level while visiting the UK.
King Charles III’s youngest son launched legal action against the government in February 2020 after he was told he would no longer receive “the same degree” of public funding protection in the UK.
“The ‘bespoke’ process devised for the plaintiffs in the judgment of 28 February 2020 was and is lawful,” High Court Judge Peter Lane said in the 52-page judgment.
In 2020, Harry and his wife Meghan sensationally left the UK and finally settled in California, USA.
In December, the prince told a hearing at the High Court in London that he could not return to the UK due to security concerns.
“Britain is my home. Britain is at the heart of my children’s heritage,” he told the court in a written statement read by his lawyers.
“This cannot happen without keeping them safe.
He added: “I cannot put my wife in such danger and given my life experience I am not willing to put myself in needless harm.”
In 1997, Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a high-speed car crash while trying to evade paparazzi photographers in Paris.
Government lawyers rejected suggestions that Harry had been “singled out” and treated “less favorably” or that a proper risk analysis had not been carried out.
– Non-working Royalty –
James Eadie, of the Home Office, told the court that the decision was not to provide Harry with the same level of protection as previously because he had left his life as a working royal and spent much of his time abroad.
In May 2023, Harry lost a legal review of another government decision that refused to allow him to pay for professional British police protection himself.
The Home Office argued at the time that it was “inappropriate” for wealthy people to “buy” protective security when it believed such taxpayer-funded protection was not in the public interest.
London’s Metropolitan Police also opposed Harry’s proposals on the grounds that it was wrong to “put police officers at risk at private expense”.
This is one of many legal cases initiated by Harry.
Earlier this month he settled a long-running lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which he accused of deceptive and illegal tactics by its journalists, but vowed to continue his legal battle with several other British media outlets.
Harry is one of seven celebrities, including Elton John, who have launched legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations it illegally harvested information.
He and actor Hugh Grant are also suing News Group News (NGN), part of Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, which also owns The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, over similar allegations ” Publisher of a tabloid newspaper.
However, Harry dropped his libel case against British newspaper The Mail on Sunday last month over an article he published about his legal battle with the British government.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
