Harry warned Invictus Games 'at risk of terror attack' after Taliban kill claims
Military veterans fear terrorists could target the Invictus Games to avenge the 25 Taliban fighters killed by Prince Harry.
Experts tonight said security at this autumn’s event for wounded soldiers will be “a nightmare”.
There are also fears Harry has jeopardised any event he attends – and that he could be regarded in the same vein as The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
Admiral Lord West, former head of the Navy, told the Sunday Mirror: “The Invictus Games is very much labelled to him and so I would have thought the threat level there will definitely be higher.
“There will be serious security issues because of what he said. Measures will have to be put in place to protect the veterans.
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“And there will be people who, given half the chance, will want to do something.”
He called Harry “very stupid” for giving details of his Taliban kills.
Harry and Meghan at the Invictus games last April (Getty Images)In his autobiography – titled Spare – Harry referred to the Afghanistan war victims as “chess pieces”.
Lord West went on: “The Taliban will be reading it thinking there’s this prince calling us all chess pieces and is quite happy about killing us.
“And there will be a lot of people, I am sure, in Islamic State and other terrorist organisations, who will think this is something which should be avenged.”
This year’s Games will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, in September.
The Duchess joined Harry in The Hague for last year's edition (ANP/AFP via Getty Images)But after Harry’s revelation, former head of royal protection Dai Davies says: “There will now need to be added security. There have been examples, like in the Manchester Arena bombing, where you get a nutter who thinks ‘we can’t get to them because they’re too well protected, so we’ll blow some innocents up’.
"You only need one idiot who thinks Allah has told him to go and do Allah’s will, as they see it, and you have a problem.”
Stefan Bisanz, who has advised the German Federal Ministry of Defence, said: “Everyone who has invited him to attend a conference or an event – Prince Harry has now endangered them all. They all now really need to rethink their security measures, which definitely includes the Invictus Games.
Lord Admiral West has led concerns (PA Archive/PA Images)“I would say that, based on what he has just done, the security threat to Prince Harry is now almost as great as to Salman Rushdie. He has potentially even put himself right up at the top of their hitlist.”
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Sir Salman, 75, lived under an Islamic death sentence for decades over his references to the Koran. He was stabbed and blinded in one eye during a US lecture tour in August.
Ex-Commando Pen Farthing, who runs a dogs charity in Afghanistan, has also criticised Harry, claiming:
“I have had to evac from Kabul in case of potential reprisal attacks on ex-forces people like me in the wake of his badly judged memoir.”
Former Royal bodyguard Dai Davies (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Ex-Army Major Wayne Owers (Sunday Mirror)Former Colour Sergeant Trevor Coult, 47, who was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in Iraq, said: “Harry’s comments will have completely jeopardised security at the Games.
“Harry’s comments would have made the security a nightmare.
“I wonder if he was thinking about this when signing his multi-million pound deal.”
Ex-Major Wayne Owers, 52 – an MBE and honoured for tours in Iraq and Afghanistan – said: “I imagine those charged with security and so many potentially vulnerable veterans are worried. Terrorists can inflict horrendous casualties with basic equipment.”
Mikey Hall, 47, who competed in the first Invictus Games in 2014, called Harry a “disgrace” to veterans – and wants the prince to stay away from this year’s event.
Fears have been voiced the Invictus Games could be a target (WireImage)
Harry has made a series of sensational claims in memoir Spare (Press Association Images)He said: “I don’t want him there any more because he is destroying himself and the Royal Family.
“I met Harry twice and I thought he was a good lad, very down to earth. But now he seems like a complete and utter idiot and is just making a fool of himself.
“He is a disgrace to him, the family and veterans, saying he has killed 25 people as a veteran. He has only done that to sell books.”
Anas Haqqani, Taliban leader in Afghanistan, condemned Harry on Twitter, declaring: “Mr Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families. Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes. Hopefully these atrocities will be remembered in the history of humanity.”
The Taliban responded to Harry's admission (AFP via Getty Images)At the last Invictus Games, in the Netherlands last April, Harry and wife Meghan got the warmest of welcomes.
In his book, which went on sale in Spain ahead of this week’s official launch, he claimed his brother William was constantly “jealous” and resented the success of Invictus.
Prince Harry was approached for comment.
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