A court in London today heard from Prince Harry’s lawyer that Al Qaeda wanted the Duke of Sussex ‘murdered’ because they think his death ‘would please the Muslim community’
Al Qaeda terrorists called for Prince Harry to be “murdered”, a court London heard today.
Harry, 40, was at the Court of Appeal has today after suing the home secretary after the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) ruled his automatic right to police protection be withdrawn following Harry and wife Meghan Markle’s decision to step back from full-time royal duties and move to the US. RAVEC said Harry should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded personal security when visiting the UK.
In written submissions for Harry, Shaheed Fatima KC said the Duke of Sussex’s security team was informed that the terrorist group had published a document which said his “assassination would please the Muslim community”. Some of the submissions were redacted for reasons of confidentiality.
Harry and Meghan were also said to have been involved in a “dangerous car pursuit with paparazzi” in New York in May 2023, involving “reckless disregard of vehicle and traffic laws”.
Ms Fatima said the duke’s security “does not appear to have been discussed at any formal RAVEC meeting”, adding there were “no official notes or detailed minutes recording the approach to be taken” to his protection.
In court on Tuesday, Ms Fatima said that by failing to undertake an RMB assessment, RAVEC “did not apply its own terms of reference” to its decision-making process, and came up with a “different and so-called ‘bespoke process’” for Harry.
In her written submissions, Ms Fatima said: “This appeal concerns the most fundamental right: to safety and security of person.”
She continued: “On January 8 2020, (the Duke of Sussex) and his wife felt forced to step back from the role of full-time official working members of the royal family as they considered they were not being protected by the institution, but they wished to continue their duties in support of the late Queen as privately funded members of the royal family.”
The court was told that a meeting took place at Buckingham Palace on January 27 2020, but in February 2020, Sir Richard Mottram – the then-chairman of RAVEC – said a risk management board (RMB) assessment would not be carried out for the duke.
She continued in written submissions that the decision was made “despite the existence of the other categories that only RAVEC knew of at the time and which, as (the duke) now knows, do provide a basis for protective security”.
This meant the duke was “not in a position to make any informed representations to RAVEC”.
The Home Office, which is legally responsible for RAVEC decisions, is opposing the appeal.
Its barrister Sir James Eadie KC said in written submissions that the appeal “involves a continued failure to see the wood for the trees”.
He said: “Whether by reference to rationality generally, or by reference to the absence of an RMB analysis, (the duke) cannot show that the judge was wrong to reject his claim that his circumstances were so exceptional as to justify not just the specific bespoke process focused on him, but to require general inclusion within the RAVEC cohort.”
The hearing before Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis is due to conclude on Wednesday with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
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