Former counter-terror chief demands security for Prince Harry, Meghan in UK

A former counter-terror chief has demanded security for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, saying the government should reinstate police protection to the royal couple, who returned to Britain on Wednesday.

The Mirror, quoted former Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu as saying: "In 2019, [Prince Harry] was one of very few people we thought needed the full package. In 2026, he doesn't. I have never been able to see how his threat risk has reduced.”

As the California-based royal couple returned to UK, the British government is now under pressure to give the taxpayer-funded security to them and their kids Archie and Lilibet.

Basu had served as the national head of counter-terrorism policing and Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations in the Metropolitan Police from March 2018 until his retirement in November 2022.

He also used to sit on the Ravec committee.

Basu said, "Whether you like him or you don't and I'm quite sick of listening to people, including everybody I know, pretending they know him, they don't.

"He's a fundamentally really decent man who is trying to do the right thing by his wife and two children. In my experience, the independent chair listens to the home secretary, who listens to the prime minister, who listens to the head of state... I'll leave it there."

He continued: "It was my units who protected him and the rest of the royal family and the VIPs. It was my units that investigated the allegations of threats to kill against him and Meghan from the extreme right-wing, extremist threats against him, as well as extreme right-wing threats against him for marrying a mixed-race woman and being declared a race traitor."