Security Ruling Makes Visit to UK Too Risky, Harry Says

Legal team fights decision on detail in High Court
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 16, 2022 12:40 PM CST
Harry Takes UK to Court Over Security Decision
Britain's Prince Harry arrives in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London in January 2020. He wants to pay for his own security team when he returns.   (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Prince Harry has gone to court to fight a decision by the British government on security arrangements for his visits to the UK. Harry, who lost his government guards when he dropped his royal duties in 2020, wants to pay for security himself when he and his family go back, the BBC reports. But the private team he'd bring from California lacks relevant intelligence information and jurisdiction in the UK, he said. "In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home," a statement said, per People.

The Home Office rejected the prince's offer to pay, and he's now seeking a judicial review by challenging the decision in the High Court. Harry went to London last July to help unveil a statue of his mother, Princess Diana. A spokesperson said Harry's security was "compromised due to the absence of police protection" at a charity event he attended on that trip. The legal spokesperson said Harry and his family have received threats from extremist groups in recent years. "The UK will always be Prince Harry's home," the statement said, but as the security arrangements stand, a visit would pose "too great a personal risk." (More Prince Harry stories.)

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