US security team not told of al-Qaeda threat, claims Prince Harry
The duke claims that the committee responsible for police protection of senior figures in the UK failed to inform his team of a threat from the terrorist group back in 2023
Prince Harry has accused the head of the committee who revoked his state-funded security of failing to inform him of a former threat from al-Qaeda.
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In a letter from the Duke of Sussex to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood sent earlier this month, Harry's legal team is understood to have claimed that the chairman of the committee knew of a threat from the terrorist group back in 2023.
It is alleged that the threat was not communicated to Harry's security staff, or to US authorities where the duke was then residing.
The letter went on to make a plea to the Home Secretary to take a personal role in determining whether the prince's family receive close police protection, after Harry, his wife Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, arrived back in Britain on Wednesday.
They did not receive any police protection upon their arrival from Montecito, California.
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The executive committee for the protection of royalty and public figures (Ravec) is an independent body overseen by the Home Office, and is responsible for determining which politicians, royal family members and other high-profile individuals receive police protection.
The Home Secretary plays no role in individual RAVEC decisions.
In late 2023, the FBI told Harry's security team that it had received intelligence that senior al-Qaeda figures had published a document on a closed channel of Telegram referring to his assassination, according to reports in the Times.
The information was passed via Five Eyes channels - the intelligence sharing system including the UK and US - but it was the Americans who passed the intel onto the duke's team.
Following the Sussex's return to the UK, the Home Office has ordered another revise of the risks that the family faces - although sources close to the family say the prince has lost faith the committee can rule fairly.
Speaking on the matter, a government spokesman said: “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
"It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
Harry has had a long-running legal battle with the Home Office over his security.
He lost a High Court challenge in February 2024 over the downgrading of his security whilst he was in the UK - although his most recent full-risk assessment in April 2019 designated him at the maximum security threat level.
The security committee planned to re-assess the prince's security requirements in March but the process was delayed for various reasons including a backlog.
Prime minister Andy Burnham spoke earlier this month saying Harry's security remained a "private matter" for the family.