The BBC has admitted that a radio programme covering the BBC’s interview with Prince Harry over his UK security setback fell short of its expected journalistic standards. The Duke of Sussex was interviewed by BBC News last Friday after the Court of Appeal rejected his bid to overturn a decision to downgrade his security when he is in the UK.
The Duke’s high-level police protection was removed by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to the US. In Friday’s interview, Prince Harry blasted the decision by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis and urged the Government to intervene – but also said he wanted reconciliation with his family.
The Duke of Sussex, interviewed by BBC News on Friday following a Court of Appeal setback concerning his UK security, characterised the defeat as a calculated move by the establishment. This description, aired on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday, was subsequently reiterated during an interview with security expert Richard Aitch, a sequence the BBC now admits fell short of its expected journalistic standards.
In a statement on its corrections and clarifications website, the BBC said: “We failed to properly challenge this and other allegations. This case is ultimately the responsibility of the Home Office and we should have reflected their statement.”
The BBC also said the programme “should have given the view of Buckingham Palace”, adding: “This was a lapse in our usual high editorial standards.”
In response to Prince Harry’s claims to the BBC, Buckingham Palace issued a blunt statement that said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
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