Prince Harry is taking legal action over the decision not to allow him to pay for police protection for himself and his family when he visits from North America. In the first stage of the case earlier this month, the duke’s lawyers asked Mr Justice Swift to grant permission for a full hearing for the judge to consider the Home Office’s decision. In a ruling on Friday, the High Court judge said the case could go ahead, allowing part of Harry’s claim to be subject to judicial review. Mr Justice Swift said: “The application for leave to apply for judicial review is allowed in part and refused in part.” The duke’s challenge concerns a February 2020 decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Rights and Public Persons (Ravec) regarding his security after he was told he would no longer be given the “same degree” of personal protection during the visit . Harry’s legal team is seeking to argue that the security arrangements, set out in a letter from Ravek, and his application for when he visited the UK in June 2021, were invalid due to “procedural unfairness” because he was not given the opportunity to “informed delegations in advance”. Harry is taking legal action against a decision not to allow him to pay for police protection for himself and his family when he visits from North America (Toby Melville/PA) Shaeed Fatima QC, for the duke, told the court earlier this month: “At that stage he didn’t know the Royal Family was involved at all … he was told it was an independent decision.” But Home Office lawyers say Ravech was entitled to make his decision that Harry’s security arrangements would be reviewed on a “case-by-case basis” and argued he should be refused permission for a full judicial review. Sir James Eadie QC, representing the Home Office, said in written arguments that any tensions between Harry and Royal Household officials were “irrelevant” to the change in security status. Additional reporting from the Press Association
