Prince Harry suffers huge blow in High Court battle over police protection

ok.co.uk:

Prince Harry has suffered a loss in his ongoing legal battle over police protection in the UK, after his initial bid to appeal a High Court ruling was rejected.The Duke of Sussex was appealing against a decision in February 2020 by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) to remove his publicly-funded protection when he is in the country.

RAVEC’s decision came as a result of a change in the duke’s official “status” after he stopped being a “full-time working member of the royal family”, a judge heard.

In February, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane dismissed Harry's claim that he had been "singled out" and treated "less favourably" by the decision, ruling that RAVEC's approach was not irrational or procedurally unfair, reports the Mirror.

A judicial spokesperson said on Wednesday that Harry had now lost his initial bid to appeal against the decision, though he is still able to ask the Court of Appeal directly for permission to challenge Sir Peter's ruling.The Duke's lawyers previously said he had been "singled out" and treated "less favourably" in the court's decision to adjust his taxpayer-funded levels of security.They added that a failure to perform a risk analysis and to fully evaluate the impact of a "successful" attack on Harry meant the approach taken to assessing the topic was "unlawful and unfair." The court also heard that Harry believed his children, Prince Archie, now four, and Princess Lilibet, two, couldn't "feel at home" in the UK if it was "not possible to keep them safe" while in the country.