Prince Harry LOSES bid for UK security after claiming he was ‘singled out’ & treated ‘less favourably’

PRINCE Harry has lost his bid for UK security after claiming he was "singled out" and treated "less favourably" than his family.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, had sued the Home Office after it refused to spend taxpayers' money on bodyguards when he left the Royal Family.

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A judge this morning ruled there had not been any "unlawfulness" in the call to pull Harry's security, which came about after Megxit.

Retired High Court Judge Sir Peter Lane added the decision had been "justified", and was not "irrational" - as it had been dubbed.

The Sussexes were stripped of their round-the-clock protection when they stepped back from royal duties in 2020.

Harry moaned he was unable to return with Meghan, Archie and Lilibet, "because it is too dangerous".

He was allowed security when he stayed at royal residences or attended royal events but had to fend for himself if he wanted to see friends.

It was this morning ruled such conditions would continue.

The findings of December's hearing read: "The court has found that there has not been any unlawfulness in reaching the decision of 28 February 2020.

"Any departure from policy was justified. The decision was not irrational.

"The decision was not marred by procedural unfairness. Even if such
procedural unfairness occurred, the court would in any event be prevented from granting the claimant relief.

"This is because, leaving aside any such unlawfulness, it is highly likely that the outcome for the claimant would not have been substantially
different."

It added: "The court has also found that there has been no unlawfulness on the part of RAVEC in respect of its arrangements for certain of the claimant’s visits to Great Britain, following the decision of 28 February 2020."

The High Court heard in May last year how Harry had brought a case against the Home Office and the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec).

He had won the bid to take the Government to court the year prior.

During the hearing, Ravec claimed that allowing Harry to pay for his own protective security would be contrary to the public interest and undermine public confidence in the Met Police.

His legal team argued he was not given an opportunity to make representations to the committee before it turned down his offer.

They also said the decision could not be reconciled with rules that expressly permit charging for certain police services.

This included using privately-funded police at one-off events such as football matches, marathons and celebrity weddings.

The decision was not irrational.

Judge

Harry's lawyers argued he was “singled out” and treated “less favourably” in the decision.

However, Home Office lawyers argued he was no longer part of a group of people whose “security position” was under regular review by Ravec.

They said rather he was “brought back within the cohort in the appropriate circumstances”.

In May last year, Harry lost a legal bid over his security after being slammed for trying to use the Met Police as “private bodyguards for the wealthy”.

The Duke of Sussex had attempted to appeal against a decision not to let him hire armed police bodyguards when he visits the UK.

He wanted to fund his own Met Police armed bodyguards but officials refused - with insiders insisting cops are not "guns for hire".

It was outlined that if Harry won the bid following December's hearing the government would have to carry out the same level of risk analysis and protection as other senior royals.

HARRY'S FULL SECURITY ON LAST UK VISIT

And if he lost the Home Office could continue looking over his requests for security on a case-by-case basis.

It was revealed that when Harry visited King Charles after his cancer diagnosis he had full security protection.

During a segment on TalkTV, royal expert Sarah Hewson explained that Harry is “always” covered by the royal security detail when he’s in the UK for “official duties".

She said: “Now, of course he didn’t have the 28 days the Home Office said he would need to give notice of in order to put together a full security plan, but these are extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in, and the Royal Family find themselves in."

The Duke of Sussex, 39, landed at Heathrow at lunchtime on February 6 following a 10-and-a-half hour overnight flight.

He was whisked to London while Charles, 75, delayed a helicopter flight to Sandringham so they could hold their first meeting in 16 months.

The expert added that Harry received the same level of security when he came for his father's coronation last year.