Prince Harry has lost a bid to bring a second legal challenge against the Home Office over his security arrangements when in the UK.The Duke of Sussex asked for permission to bring a High Court challenge over a decision that he should not be allowed to pay privately for his protective security.
At a hearing earlier this month, a judge was asked by Harry’s legal team to allow the duke to proceed with a claim over decisions taken by the Home Office and the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) – which falls under the remit of the department – in December 2021 and February 2022.The Home Office, opposing Harry’s claim, said Ravec considered it was “not appropriate” for wealthy people to “buy” protective security, which might include armed officers, when it had decided that “the public interest does not warrant” someone receiving such protection on a publicly-funded basis.
Lawyers for the Met Police, an interested party in the case, said Ravec had been “reasonable” in finding “it is wrong for a policing body to place officers in harm’s way upon payment of a fee by a private individual”.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain refused Harry permission to bring the second challenge, rejecting on a number of grounds.The duke’s legal team argued Ravec’s view, that allowing payment for protective security would be contrary to the public interest and undermine public confidence in the Met Police, could not be reconciled with rules which expressly permit charging for certain police services.
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