Prince Harry told by judge he had no right to intervene in fight to pay for police protection

Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex lost his High Court case against the Home Office this week

PA
Svar Nanan-Sen

By Svar Nanan-Sen


Published: 26/05/2023

- 13:54

The Duke of Sussex lost his High Court case against the Home Office this week

Prince Harry was told by a judge that he had no right to intervene in fight to pay for police protection.

The Duke of Sussex was not entitled to make personal representations over the decision to deny him the right to pay for his police protection, according to the judge that denied his application for a legal challenge.


The royal had argued that the Home Office's decision not to allow him to fund his own security was "procedurally unfair" as he was not given the opportunity to put forward his case.

Harry applied for a judicial review based on his offer to pay, which he claimed should have prompted the Home Office to "quash and retake" its decision.

Prince Harry

Prince Harry was told by a judge that he had no right to intervene in fight to pay for police protection.

PA

Harry applied for a judicial review based on his offer to pay, which he claimed should have prompted the Home Office to "quash and retake" its decision.

However, the application was refused on a number of grounds by Mr Justice Chamberlain.

Chamberlain said: "It is not obvious why fairness demanded that one particular principal be afforded the opportunity to make formal representations on that issue."

He added: "In my judgment, it is not arguable that the failure to invite representations on the issue of principle was a breach of natural justice."

According to figures obtained by a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, £199,978.52 of taxpayer money has gone towards the Government's legal department costs in this case.

An additional £93,268 has been spent on general counsel, £660 on court fees, £2,958 on email disclosure and £16.55 for a courier, according to The Sun.

The Home Office opposed the idea of allowing wealthy people to buy security from the police.

This ruling followed a one-day High Court hearing in London last week.

Prince Harry

Prince Harry is pursuing multiple separate civil cases through the courts in London.

PA

A government spokesperson said: "We welcome the judgment upholding the integrity of the protective security system.

"The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

"It would not be appropriate to comment further on the legal proceedings."

Prince Harry is pursuing multiple separate civil cases through the courts in London.

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