Frustrated Harry flies home to his family - and an uncertain future

Published on Saturday 1 March 2008 18:37

PRINCE Harry returned to the UK yesterday amid growing questions about his future in the military and claims his tour of duty was a "PR stunt".

The Tri-Star military transport plane carrying the Prince touched down at RAF Brize Norton at 11.30. Prince Charles was the first to congratulate his 23-year-old son. He said: "Along with many parents who have experienced the same sense of anxiety about their sons or daughters serving on operational deployments overseas, I feel a great sense of relief and pride on the day my son, Harry, returns home – albeit somewhat earlier than expected."

The head of the army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said it would be at least 18 months before Prince Harry saw service again.

Evidence that the tour had created a potential security nightmare continued to mount as one radical cleric, Omar Bakri Mohammad, speaking in Lebanon, accused Prince Harry of "carrying out war against Islam and Muslims".

Meanwhile, PR guru Max Clifford claimed the Afghan tour had been a "PR stunt".

The Prince had completed 10 weeks of a planned four-month tour when news of his deployment leaked out, resulting in him being withdrawn from the desert by special forces and put on a regular RAF flight home.

After greeting his youngest son, Prince Charles said: "That he is safe and sound is indeed an immense blessing, but I think particularly at this time of those whose loved ones may not have returned, or of those who have been terribly wounded during the course of their duties and about whom we hear so little."

On the same day that a British airman was announced to have been killed in a rocket attack on his base in Basra, Iraq, Prince Charles added: "There is a real and often overlooked need to reflect upon the extraordinarily selfless, dedicated service given by all the members of our armed forces, so often in the most hazardous and dreadful of conditions. They, their families and loved ones, who give them such support and understanding, deserve our most wholehearted gratitude."

Prince Harry himself told how his own experience had been put in context by flying back to the UK with two seriously injured colleagues.

"I wouldn't say I'm a hero. There were two injured guys who came back on the plane with us who were essentially comatose. One had lost two limbs – a left arm and a right leg – and another guy who was saved by his mate's body being in the way but took shrapnel to the neck... Those are the heroes, those were guys who had been blown up by a mine that they had no idea about, serving their country, doing a normal patrol.

"I was a bit shocked. It is a bit of a choke in your throat because you know that it's happening. There's a lot of time when you are actually in theatre it isn't even mentioned that much."

As speculation mounted about the Prince's future, Dannatt said there was "no immediate prospect" of him returning to active service.

Although there were harrowing moments, Prince Harry had spoken of his desire to return to Afghanistan as soon as possible. It was, he said, an atmosphere where he felt as comfortable as he ever has in Britain.

Clifford questioned the Prince's role, saying: "To me it's blatantly obvious. It's a PR stunt, the whole thing has been put together. The climate when he went out (he] was getting increasing bad publicity from hanging around in clubs and pubs, and coming out drunk."

Meanwhile, it is understood that lawyers acting for Prince Harry's girlfriend Chelsy Davy over journalist and paparazzi intrusion have threatened referral to the Press Complaints Commission after a day of alleged harassment.