Prince Harry will not be able to privately contract official police services while living and traveling in the UK. He was blocked from doing so by the British government after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, decided in January 2020 to renounce their functions as representatives of the English Crown and the title of Royal Highness.
Harry appealed against the government’s decision after the High Court in London allowed him to challenge the original decision to end police protection. However, to end that protection, he ruled that judicial review could not be sought on whether to allow special police officers to pay themselves.
The decision to deny him publicly funded security was made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as RAVEC, which approves the security of royalty and important personalities such as the Prime Minister. Is.
In his written ruling, Judge Martin Chamberlain said it was against the public interest to allow the payment of security cover. Harry’s lawyers argued that there were provisions in the law allowing payment for “special police services” and thus “payment for surveillance is not inconsistent with the public interest or public confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service.” ,
But lawyers for the Ministry of the Interior disputed that this type of security, because it meant “specialist officers could be hired as bodyguards”, and that it was not comparable with police equipment used at football matches, was a Duke’s argument that the lawyers used
Rejection of private payment for a public service such as police protection
The Metropolitan Police Legal Services argued that it would not be fair to put officers at risk because of “payment of a fee by an individual”.
The Revek committee unanimously rejected the private pay proposal and according to Home Office lawyers it was emphasized that it was a matter of policy to oppose the idea that “allowing a wealthy person to ‘buy’ security cover”. should be given”.
Harry’s spokesman said his decision came less than a week after the prince, his wife Meghan and their mother were involved in a “near-destructive” car chase with press photographers following an awards ceremony in New York.
