PH lost bid to challenge for right to pay Home Office for his security

[Mumsnut]

I've probably garbled that, but that's the gist of it.

<Snorts>

The Duke of Sussex’s lengthy court bids have already cost Brits a small fortune.
Figures revealed in a Freedom of Information request show taxpayers have so far footed a bill of £199,978.52 on government legal department costs, £93,268 on general counsel, £660 for court fees, £2,958 on email disclosure and £16.55 for a courier.
Harry’s lawyers also plan to ­challenge an application for him to pay for the Government’s costs defending last week’s case — thought to be at least £8,000.

None of this endears me to him.

Though I do think the government here has been fair - he gets protection in UK as and when it's needed so I'm perhaps not going to like the bills we're paying to defend this - but it's not a great look.

Legal costs mount up VERY quickly. As everyone knows

wonder if he will have to pay costs for the other side - aka the U.K. taxpayer. Hope so. That money can be put to much better use.

Same 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

You are right.
Here we go again...

Yep, the endless reference to Princess Meghan gives the game away. Ah well, let them have their fun, bless them.

It's not behind a paywall if you are in the UK. As you've been posting all night, will you be off to bed now hun? You must be tired

It isn't behind a paywall elsewhere as far I know - I could access it in South Africa without a paywall/subscription.

There are different rules in La La Land

That poster is either on a wind up or wilfully ignorant

And almost certainly one of the more unbalanced fans back with another namechange - the writing style's pretty recognisable

I won't comment on the plan to "challenge payment of the costs" until it happens, but not for the first time the Scum's report makes no sense ... if it's said to have cost taxpeyers about £200k so far, where does the £8k he's supposed to pay come from?

The Guardian is definitely not behind a paywall. You get this message at the bottom of each article asking/encouraging donations so they can keep it free for everyone to read.

To be fair, most of the costs incurred on the government’s side were probably internal - salaries which would have been paid anyway. The external counsel costs would not have been insignificant though

And the costs incurred by the Home Office won’t include the time spent by their in-house legal staff.

which will add up to a considerate amount of time and money.

but hey - using taxpayers money isn’t gonna bother Harry, is it? He’s the adult male who thinks his dad should pay all his bills so that Harry can leave his millions to his kids.

Just said the same thing!

but - if the case wasn’t brought, then the staff members would not have been assigned to it. There might be a case for having less staff members or not having to pay overtime for those assigned to Harry’s case. Or that staff members were pulled away from other jobs.

whatever the case - it did take up staff time and had a very real cost. Not just staff salaries, but National Insurance payments, pension contributions etc. and that all adds up.

Livinghappy · Yesterday 20:41
I think it's a shame that he and Meghan have played their cards a bit badly

Completely agree although not "a bit".

Imagine if they had gone to the USA without the bitterness and then did a talk show where they spoke of the lovely times in the RF. What if their follow up series featured charity work in Africa and Harry continued to support veterans.

Had they taken this approach they would still have star value in the USA and be thought of warmly in the UK. I imagine KC would have done whatever he could to ensure they travelled back to the UK safely.

Instead they took a scorched earth approach which has been destructive for everyone. Court cases cause irreparable damage as the bitterness becomes more ingrained so I really hope PH can find some peace.

Living, I think you've put this brilliantly.

I'm not a fan of H and M, just to state my position, but I think all the people who froth at the mouth on here about 'haters' are setting up a straw man argument. It's not about hating them - I've neither the interest nor the energy - it's about cringing painfully about the awful way they've behaved to their families and the serious damage their lies 'truth' has adversely affected the image of the RF and the UK in general. They have been a complete embarrassment.

Now, because I'm not a nasty person despite having no time for these two, I am genuinely worried about the future for their children. They really do seem to be backing themselves into a corner and becoming a laughing-stock.

Lol...Princess Meghan? bonkers!

While the home office employees have been wasting time on Harry's case, more important claims have been put on hold.

The Home Office legal department is well known to be backed up with cases, some of them urgent and complex, that profoundly affect other people's family lives and livelihoods. So your point about staff with legal expertise being pulled away from other jobs is well made, I think.

Yep

Can't help but feel a bit sorry for Harold and Princess Meghan. There they were, all set to take over the world with their unique blend of olde-worlde royale superiore and Hollywood glamor. The doormats were printed, and those glittering appearances on VIP red carpets worldwide were ready to launch! How thrilling was the prospect of William and Kate, blown to fusty smithereens by the stardust and dollar bills trailing in the Sussex Royale wake...

Instead? Covid court jester juggling in Zoom calls, a cringe-worthy picture book, a few self-aggrandizing podcasts, a couple of UK appearances among the old guard to cement their Siberia status back in Blighty, and a sprinkle of reputation-ruining tell-all misery memoir.

It's all of that, rather than the Ms debacle, that is the real car crash!

Who are the people who use the rather juvenile term “Hater” -I’m sure no one “ Hates” them, but they do seem to be a bit of a laughing stock these days.
Harry with his perma-scowl and his wife with the nailed- on almost grimacing grin - like the old masks 🎭 of “ Comedy” and “Tragedy”.

The farcical NY car chase at 5 mph and then Backgrid’s stinging response to them - Ouch!

Harry’s wife appears addicted to fame at any cost- Not a good look.
Harry is like a little kid trotting behind them, all kudos he thought he had long gone.

It's a wind-up, googlejourney - no obligation to bite

Thanks everyone for the very fair points about the Home Office staff being employed anyway and some of the costs therefore "already covered", but fair points too about their workload not exactly being helped by this nonsense

Personally I'm hoping Harry doesn't really argue about paying anything, because that might be embarrassing for the few remaining fans who insist "he wanted to pay"

Who are the people who use the rather juvenile term “Hater”

IME it's Twitter addicts, oakleaffy, who seem to regard it as the fount of all knowledge ... except I believe it's usually spelled "haterz" on there ...

“Haterz” sounds like a brand of lawnmower to me- I’m sure there is one called “Hayter” .

I think it’s an American term, the British can’t be arsed to “ Hate”- we scoff in derision as Hairy and his wife lurch from one farce to the other-

I don’t understand the “ Awards” either- What are they for?
I can’t see that Harry’s wife is a feminist-

Using men from Daddy onwards to ease her way through life?

That doesn’t seem very “ Feminist “ of her .

I'm glad the ruling has been made - agree that for this to have proceeded would have massively opened the floodgates. Harry isn't the first celebrity to have tried to pay for Met protection - they'd have all come out of the woodwork!

And in any event the legislation that enables the police to charge for payment (s25 of the Police Act 1996) only says that 'a chief officer of police may provide'. Not that they must. Several football clubs have done a cropper on that as well. The cops can and do say no to requests for their paid for services.