UK defence secretary accuses Prince Harry of ‘boasting’ about his Afghanistan kill tally
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace has accused Prince Harry of “boasting” about his Afghanistan kill tally.
In his bombshell memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex revealed he had killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving in the British Army.
He wrote that “in the era of Apaches and laptops” it was possible to know exactly “how many enemy combatants I had killed”.
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He continued: “And it seemed to me essential not to be afraid of that number. So my number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me.
(Image: Getty Images)
“When I found myself plunged in the heat and confusion of combat I didn’t think of those 25 as people.
“They were chess pieces removed from the board. Bad people eliminated before they could kill good people.”
Speaking to LBC, Wallace (a former soldier himself) said Harry’s comments went against the idea of the army being a “team game”.
He said: “I frankly think boasting about tallies… distorts the fact that the army is a team game. It’s a team enterprise. It’s not about who can shoot the most.
(Image: Getty Images)
“If you start talking about who did what, [you’re] letting down all those other people, because you’re not a better person because you did and they didn’t.”
Harry previously defended his decision to publish his kill count during an appearance on a US chat show, where he said his aim was to show veterans they can discuss their military experiences without shame.
“My whole goal and my attempt with sharing that detail is to reduce the number of suicides,” he said.
He also denied he was “boasting” about the figure.
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