Prince Harry’s security case to be heard in public next week

By Hannah Furness

The Duke of Sussex’s legal appeal about his security arrangements must be held mostly in public, the Court of Appeal has ordered.

The hearing, due to be held next week, will include only “short periods in private” for the most confidential evidence.

A new order by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis cites the principle of “open justice” as the basis for the decision.

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The Duke has taken legal action against the Home Office over a Feb 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which found he would not receive the “same degree” of personal protective security when visiting Britain as he did while a full-time working member of the royal family.

In a judgment in February last year, the retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane rejected the Duke’s case and concluded Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair.

The Duke’s appeal against that ruling is scheduled to be heard on April 8 and April 9 in London.

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In an order handed down on Wednesday, ahead of the hearing, the Court of Appeal judges found that the parties’ opening submissions and arguments related to “non-confidential facts” will be held in open court, which can be attended by the press and the public.

They said: “Some of the evidence in this case, which is being placed before the Court of Appeal, has been agreed between the parties to be highly confidential.

“That evidence relates to security arrangements and threat levels and assessments for the claimant and other public figures. It is obvious that such material would be of interest to anyone wishing to harm a person.

“Whilst some of the material that needs to be protected in the interests of justice is entangled with less sensitive details, it should be possible to conduct most of the appeal in public, with only short periods in private to deal with the confidential evidence.

“In this way, the open justice principle can be adhered to as faithfully as possible in the particular circumstances of this case.”

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The Duke’s lawyers previously told the High Court that he was “singled out” and treated “less favourably” in Ravec’s decision.

They argued that a failure to carry out a risk analysis and fully consider the impact of a “successful attack” on him meant the approach to his protection was “unlawful and unfair”.

The Government argued that Ravec was entitled to conclude the Duke’s protection should be “bespoke” and considered on a “case-by-case” basis.

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