Judge blocks Harry’s decision not to allow UK police to pay for security | the world

Prince Harry failed on Tuesday in his bid to legally challenge the British government’s decision not to allow him to pay for police protection while in the UK.

Harry, the youngest son of King Charles, was stripped of the police protection normally afforded to royals after he and his American wife, Meghan, stepped down from their official duties to travel to the United States in 2020.

Last year London’s High Court already conceded he could challenge the original decision to end protection and ruled he could not seek a judicial review of whether he should be allowed to pay special police officers.

The decision to remove him from publicly funded security was taken by the Executive Committee for Security of Royalty and Public Persons, abbreviated as RAVEC, which approves security for VIPs such as the royal family and the prime minister.

In his written judgment, Justice Martin Chamberlain said there was no error in ruling that allowing RAVEC to pay the security deposit was against the public interest.

His decision comes less than a week after Harry’s spokesman said the prince, his wife Meghan and his mother were involved in a “near-disastrous” car chase with press photographers after an awards ceremony in New York.