Home Office 'will not back down' in legal tussle with Prince Harry over police protection

UK’s Home Office has announced that it will not back down in its extraordinary legal battle with Prince Harry over his police protection when he visits Britain even when the Duke of Sussex offered to pay for it, sources informed The Mail. The estranged Duke of Sussex, now a resident of California, US currently pays for a private security team and filed for a Judicial Review against the Home Office’s decision to scrap his police protection in the UK sans his consent. An unnamed spokesman acting for Harry’s legal battle informed the British media outlet that the Home Office is refusing to back down on the matter. 

The Mail quoted a  legal representative as saying on condition of anonymity: “The Duke first offered to pay personally for UK police protection for himself and his family in January of 2020 at Sandringham. But that offer was dismissed.” The representative further informed, “He [Prince Harry] remains willing to cover the cost of security, as not to impose on the British taxpayer.” Another senior source told the UK’s newspaper, “I've not seen anything in writing that suggests this is about whether or not he pays for it. It's about whether or not the security is granted here that is the issue.”

'When Harry left The Firm, terms were clear': Unnamed Home Office source

Harry had earlier objected to the rampant decision of removing his police security, arguing that privately hired bodyguards would be insufficient for his safety when he lands in the UK. However, the Home Office refused to budge in its stance, as a senior source told the newspaper, “ 'When Harry left The Firm [Royal Family] the terms of his divorce were clear. Like other members of the public, he and his wife are not able to hire armed cops at will – no matter how much they offer to pay.” Meanwhile a source on Harry’s side informed that hiring private security came “at a risk” and that the security they pay for in America cannot be replicated in the UK. 

“We don't allow people to wander the street with guns here [UK],” the unnamed source told The Mail,  adding “other minor Royals manage to function in normal life without armed guards. The Home Office is refusing to blink.” In his legal review, The Duke of Sussex’s legal representative said that Harry planned to bring his kids Archie and Lilibet to the UK from the US and that is too risky without police protection. “In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home,” the document accessed by AP read.