Mick Smith: Harry should do as he's told

Prince Harry would consider leaving the Army if he is barred at the last moment from going to Iraq with his men, sources in the Household Cavalry said today.

The claim followed confirmation by the Ministry of Defence that a review was under way into whether the 22-year-old third-in-line to the throne should still go to Iraq with The Blues and Royals, part of the Household Cavalry, next month.

The review follows a month of rising casualties among British servicemen and women in southern Iraq in the last few weeks. Eleven have died so far this month, the highest death toll since 2003.

Two soldiers, Corporal Ben Leaning, 24, and Trooper Kristen Turton, 28, both with The Queen’s Royal Lancers, were killed last week in Maysan province when their Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Prince Harry, as a troop leader with A Squadron The Blues and Royals, will be carrying out similar reconnaissance patrols when he arrives in Iraq.

A Household Cavalry source said: “[The review] comes as a huge surprise. As of today, as far as the regiment is concerned, he is definitely, definitely going. This is what he signed up for and if he doesn’t go, he will sign off and leave.”

The source added: “He joined the Army for a bit of excitement and for him to be told he’s not going would be awful. There will be bad feeling in the regiment if they stop him.”

Army and royal sources played down the suggestion that Prince Harry would quit the Army if he was prevented from serving with his men in Iraq, although he himself has said in the past that there was no point in him serving in the Army if he was not allowed to be with his men wherever they were deployed.

One royal source said: “Prince Harry is a grown-up and he’ll take whatever the decision is, but he wants to go to Iraq. He would be extremely disappointed but to say he would quit is way too strong.”

However, the review has underlined the intense sensitivities over the imminent deployment of Prince Harry - 2nd Lieutenant (Cornet) Wales - to an overseas operation that has become increasingly dangerous and hostile.

The review is being carried out by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army who has less than a month to decide whether to stick by his decision to allow Prince Harry to deploy to Iraq with his men.

General Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff, made his decision in February, in consultation with Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

The Ministry of Defence was adamant today that at this stage no decision had been taken to reverse General Dannatt’s conclusion that it was right for Prince Harry to go to Iraq. “As of now, the intention is for Prince Harry to deploy to Iraq with his men,” an MoD official said.

The problem faced by General Dannatt is that the publicity about Prince Harry’s imminent departure for Iraq is creating a potential increased risk that he and his men will be targeted by insurgent forces. It is now well publicised that he will be serving in a Scimitar on reconnaissance patrols, and a number of Scimitars have already been targeted.

General Dannatt has to think of Prince Harry and the 11 men under his command in assessing whether his squadron might suffer greater risk of attack. However, defence sources said this dilemma was confronted when the original decision was taken in February.

Defence sources stressed that there was little point in sending Prince Harry to Iraq if he was to be placed in a desk job at a base, since he was trained as a reconnaissance troop leader.

However, one senior army source said even if the Prince was allowed to carry out his proper role in Iraq, he would not be riding in a Scimitar every day. “Every officer has to do other duties as well which will include serving as watchkeeper back at base and planning operations, so he won’t be sitting in a Scimitar 24 hours a day seven days a week,” the source said.

The Household Cavalry source also said: “Prince Harry will have his troop and the protection of his troop and his vehicle. His troop will not just protect him but all the guys.”

In recent months, even sitting in a base is risky, since every location where British soldiers are serving comes under daily indirect fire from mortar rockets and Chinese-made rockets. “Nowhere is perfectly safe in Iraq,” one defence source admitted.

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