The BBC has admitted to failing to properly challenge Prince Harry’s claims that he is victim of ‘good old fashioned establishment stitch up’, in his recent interview
The BBC has admitted to a lapse in ‘our usual high editorial standards’ following the coverage of the BBC News’ interview with the Duke of Sussex on May 2.
Prince Harry spoke to the broadcaster after losing a Court of Appeal challenge over his security arrangements while in the UK. He then characterised the defeat as an “establishment stitch-up”.
The interview was covered the next day by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, and how the Duke described the court defeat as a “good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up”.
The BBC apologised on its Corrections and Clarifications website
In an interview with close protection expert Richard Aitch on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme the BBC says the Duke’s “stitch-up” claims were “repeated”. The BBC has now admitted that this fell short of their editorial standards.
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.”
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The broadcaster also added that the programme “should have given the view of Buckingham Palace”, and “this was a lapse in our usual high editorial standards”.
The Home Office said: “We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the Government’s position in this case.
Elsewhere in the interview, Harry claimed that his father is no longer on speaking terms with him (
Image:
POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“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.”
Speaking in response to the failed legal challenge, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
During the Today interview, Richard Aitch claimed he was “shocked but not surprised” by the judgement.
The director of operations at security services company Mobius International, then continued by saying that the “provision of protection should not be based on legal argument”, but on assessment of “risk and threat against Harry”, and then agreed that it had been a “stitch up”.
Mr Aitch then took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say: “There should not be any need to apologise @BBCNews for opinion based interviews.
“Absence of a threat and risk assessment on Prince Harry where the focus is on legal process influenced by the recommendations of a committee that is not independent, it defines ‘stitch up’.”
Elsewhere in his bombshell interview, Prince Harry expressed his desire for “reconciliation” with the Royal Family. During the interview, Harry claimed that his father, King Charles is no longer on speaking terms with him due to the security issues.
“He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” he said, before adding: “For the time being it is impossible for me to bring my family back to the UK safely.”
