Prince Harry has made a new bid to revive his quest to reinstate his taxpayer-funded security by relaying his concerns directly in a letter to the new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood.
The Duke of Sussex made a formal request to the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec), which falls under Home Office oversight, asking for a proper risk assessment to be carried out.
Sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that Harry has reached out to Ms Mahmood after previously petitioning her predecessor, Yvette Cooper, about the same issue.
The duke is seeking an annual risk management board assessment conducted by Ravec – an annual process for each Royal Family member and qualifying VIP since 2019.
A source close to Harry said: “I can confirm that the duke has written to the new Home Secretary asking for a risk management board to be conducted.”
The insider added: “While he realises this will not be top of the incoming secretary’s in-tray it is something which should have happened a long time ago.”
“We have had the can kicked down the road for quite a while now but all he’s asking is for Ravec to abide by its own rules which state that an RMB should be conducted each year. The last one for the duke was in 2019,” they told The Times.
GB News has approached representatives of the Duke of Sussex for further information.
Prince Harry has lodged a new bid to have his taxpayer funded security reinstated
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Home Office sources have acknowledged receiving requests from the duke for an assessment, though they maintain their policy of not discussing individual security cases to protect those involved.
“The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate,” a Government spokesman said.
“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,” they told The Times.
Ravec brings together representatives from the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and royal household to advise on protection decisions.
The Duke of Sussex is understood to have contacted the new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood
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After stepping down as a working royal in 2020, the duke’s security was downgraded by the board.
As such, his protection detail now operates on a case-by-case basis and requires a month’s notice before UK visits – arrangements he has argued do not adequately address the risks he faces.
Harry’s latest effort to have his taxpayer funded protection reinstated follows a bruising legal defeat earlier this year.
In May, the Duke of Sussex lost his High Court appeal over the decision to downgrade his detail.
Harry had his security detail downgraded in 2020 after stepping down as a working royal
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After the court ruling, Harry admitted: “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.”
While telling the BBC that King Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff”, the duke blasted the decision as “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up” and called for review.
For their part, Buckingham Palace said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”