'Can't hire Scotland Yard!' Lorraine Kelly hits out at Prince Harry over police protection
LORRAINE KELLY has lambasted Prince Harry after it was revealed the Duke of Sussex demanded police security during his visits to Britain.
Lorraine questions why Prince Harry can't hire Scotland Yard
Lorraine Kelly invited Daily Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers onto Monday's instalment of her self-titled ITV show to discuss Prince Harry's demand for police protection. Harry has offered to cover the cost of security which means the British taxpayer would not foot the bill. However, Lorraine hit out over his protection plan, telling viewers: "You can't hire Scotland Yard."
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Harry has come under fire over his calls for police security as he's no longer a royal or carries out any duties.
Russell explained to ITV viewers: "It could potentially get very messy and people have told me within the royal circles that this is particularly misguided."
However, Lorraine erupted: "You can't hire Scotland Yard, you can't.
"But to be fair, he says he'll pay anything, it's not like he's asking the police or the Queen to pay."
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Russell explained when Prince Charles was in a relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles he paid privately for his own security to look after her.
Lorraine added: "It just feels awful, could [Harry] not just have picked the phone up to his dad and said, 'Look you've not seen your granddaughter yet, but we want to fix it.'"
She said Charles could then have potentially offered a security contact to Harry who he could use during his next visit to the UK.
Lorraine asked whether Harry and Charles' relationship was "so bad" that they are unable to do that.
Russell replied: "If he is now saying the UK is not safe enough for his family to visit, where does that leave him with his relationship with his family?
"I would imagine it's not very much better than it was a few months ago."
Their debate came in the wake of Harry filing for a judicial review against a Home Office decision barring him from personally paying for police protection for himself and his family while visiting the UK.
A legal representative claims the duke, his wife Meghan, and two children, want to visit the UK but they are "unable to return to his home” because it is too dangerous for them.
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Harry has argued his current private protection team at home in the US does not have adequate jurisdiction abroad or access to UK intelligence information which is needed to keep his family safe from harm.
His concerns follow an incident in summer 2021 when the paparazzi compromised his security and chased Prince Harry after a charity event.
The Duke's legal representative said: “The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in.
“With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.”
A legal representative for the Duke of Sussex said: "Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life.
"He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.
"While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the Royal Family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK. In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home."
Lorraine continues weekdays from 9am on ITV.
